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. 1974 Dec;9:319–324. doi: 10.1289/ehp.749319

Effects of ingested chrysotile on DNA synthesis in the gastrointestinal tract and liver of the rat

D E Amacher, A Alarif, S S Epstein
PMCID: PMC1475382  PMID: 4470950

Abstract

The effects of chrysotile on DNA synthesis in the gastrointestinal tract of the rat were studied by measuring the uptake of tritium-labeled thymidine; whole stomach, small intestine, colon liver were removed, cleaned, and homogenized and the DNA was isolated and assayed for tritium label.

A dose–response study indicated that 2 weeks after a 5 mg/kg dose of chrysotile, DNA synthesis was increased in the small intestine and colon and reduced in the liver; synthesis was reduced in the small intestine 2 weeks after a 500 mg/kg dose. Following a 100 mg/kg dose of chrysotile, a transient increase in DNA synthesis was noted in the stomach and small intestine at 1 and 7 days, respectively, besides increased synthesis in the colon from 28 to 63 days. These data suggest that asbestos penetrates the gastrointestinal mucosa and influences regulation of DNA synthesis in the gastrointestinal tract.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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