INDUCTION OF MICRONUCLEATED AND MULTINUCLEATED CELLS BY MAN-MADE FIBERS IN-VITRO IN MAMMALIAN-CELLS

Many workers as well as the general public are exposed to glass fibers , which are among the most common man-made fibers. information related to their genotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity is still limited. in this study, we investigated the ability of glass fibers to induce micronucleated and multinucleated cells in cultured Chinese hamster lu ng fibroblasts, the V79 cells. The induced micronuclei were further an alyzed to determine the mechanism of micronucleus formation by stainin g the kinetochore with anti-kinetochore and fluoresceinated goat anti- human immunoglobulin G (IgC) antibodies. Three types of glass fibers ( Manville 100 microfiber, Owens Coming AAA-10 microfiber, and Owens Com ing general building insulation fiber) were studied. The results show that the two microfibers induced significant numbers of multinucleated and micronucleated cells in a concentration-related manner. Immunoflu orescent staining demonstrated a significant dose-related increase in the proportion of kinetochore-positive micronuclei in cells treated wi th the two microfibers. These results indicate that the two microfiber s are capable of inhibiting cytokinesis and are principally aneuploido gens. Unlike the two microfibers, the larger fibers neither induced mi cronuclei nor inhibited cytokinesis in V79 cells. Thus, the genotoxic potential of glass fibers in V79 cells may be related to their size.