Reactive oxygen metabolites produced by the carcinogenic fibrous mineral erionite.

Erionite, a fibrous mineral and the causative agent of the endemic outbreak of mesothelioma in Turkey, has been shown to generate reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) from polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). In order to investigate the mechanism of the production of ROM by erionite from PMN, a luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) method was utilized. Human peripheral blood PMN were incubated with 50-800 micrograms/ml of erionite. PMN CL was produced immediately after the addition of erionite; the maximal CL production was reached within 2 to 6 min and the CL response increased with the dose of erionite. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and dimethyl sulfoxide were utilized as scavengers of O2-, H2O2, and OH., respectively. These scavengers inhibited the production of erionite-stimulated PMN CL dose dependently, thus indicating the production of O2-, H2O2, and OH. by erionite-stimulated PMN. The less phagocytically active cells, namely, mononuclear cells and erythrocytes, produced CL immediately after the addition of erionite or phorbol myristate acetate and displayed a significant delay period after the addition of zymosan. Therefore, the direct interaction between the cell surface membrane and erionite would appear to be more important than phagocytosis, per se, for the production of ROM by erionite.