Dr. Jean Pfau, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Idaho State University, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research the effects of asbestos on healthy cells. Although scientists have established the link between asbestos exposure and lung diseases, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, Dr. Pfau’s work will also include how asbestos can affect the body’s immune system. The grant, totaling nearly $192,000, will allow Dr. Pfau and other ISU scientists to find any connections between asbestos exposure and autoimmune diseases.
Previous studies have found a correlation between asbestos exposure and an increased incidence of autoimmune disorders, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Pfau and her staff will attempt to determine if asbestos exposure does lead to these diseases, or if the correlation is a coexisting symptom. Many of the study’s subjects will come from the town of Libby in neighboring Montana. Libby was the site of a major asbestos mine and has been declared an environmental disaster area by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a division of the NIH, funded the study. Dr. Pfau and three undergraduate students will conduct the research project, titled “The Role of System xc in Asbestos-Induced Autoimmune Responses”. Dr. Pfau expects to release the study results by late 2012. She said that the grant “will explore changes in molecules” in the cells that control the body’s immune responses. She also mentioned her hope that the study will lead to a greater understanding of autoimmune diseases, specifically those induced by asbestos exposure.
One avenue that the study will examine is the role that the amino acid glutamate plays in signaling immune system responses and how asbestos affects its molecular structure. Dr. Pfau said that, while the function of glutamate as a neurological signaler is well known, the effect that the molecule has on the immune system is not as clear.
The basis of Dr. Pfau’s theory lies in the interaction between microscopic asbestos fibers and white blood cells, the first line of defense in the body’s immune system. Dr. Pfau believes that specialized white blood cells, called macrophages, use glutamate as a way to signal the immune system to take action and repel the invading toxin. She also theorizes that asbestos could interfere with glutamate and cause and the immune system to overreact. Such an overreaction can cause the immune system to attack both toxic invaders and healthy tissue.
Dr. Pfau’s study will also look at how the body reacts to different types of asbestos. For instance, asbestos used in building materials often leads to higher incidences of mesothelioma, a form of cancer that targets the tissue lining the lungs, but does not always lead to autoimmune disorders. Exposure to asbestos from raw mining materials, such as those found at the Libby site, has a higher correlation to autoimmune diseases.
The study will use blood samples taken from Libby residents. Most of the work will revolve around comparing samples from those exposed in their general surroundings to those who used asbestos heavily in commercial settings.
Source: Idaho State University
