Studies of in vitro asbestos-cell interaction.

Using amosite and chrysotile, asbestos cytotoxicity is shown to be a function of time and is abolished by filtration of the culture medium containing asbestos fibers through a 0.2-micrometer filter. There is evidence that cytotoxicity is related to the phagocytic property of cells since non-phagocytic fibroblasts survive under conditions lethal to P388D1 cells. Time lapse studies show that apparently normal mitosis occurs in the presence of intracellular asbestos, but the presence of fibers in sufficient quantity results in cytotoxicity. Effects on human (WI-38) fibroblasts are also reported.