Free radical activity of mineral fibres containing adsorbed ferritin:: Detection using supercoiled DNA

Mammalian ferritin was found to adsorb strongly, from aqueous solutions, onto the amphibole group minerals amosite and crocidolite. The mineral fibres containing adsorbed ferritin were found to show high free-radical activity leading to radical damage to DNA, which was quantified by electrophoretic assays with the pCSI2 plasmid. The results are discussed in terms of possible implications in the pathogenicity of asbestos bodies which are formed in vivo after inhaling mineral fibres, and which often contain endogenous ferritin in their coatings.