start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=20 cd-vols= no-issue=1 article-no= start-page=19 end-page= dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2023 dt-pub=20230508 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=An investigation of the internal morphology of asbestos ferruginous bodies: constraining their role in the onset of malignant mesothelioma en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=Background@Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was widely used in the past. However, asbestos inhalation is associated with an aggressive type of cancer known as malignant mesothelioma (MM). After inhalation, an iron-rich coat forms around the asbestos fibres, together the coat and fibre are termed an "asbestos ferruginous body" (AFB). AFBs are the main features associated with asbestos-induced MM. Whilst several studies have investigated the external morphology of AFBs, none have characterised the internal morphology. Here, cross-sections of multiple AFBs from two smokers and two non-smokers are compared to investigate the effects of smoking on the onset and growth of AFBs. Morphological and chemical observations of AFBs were undertaken by transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and selected area diffraction.
Results@The AFBs of all patients were composed of concentric layers of 2-line or 6-line ferrihydrite, with small spherical features being observed on the outside of the AFBs and within the cross-sections. The spherical components are of a similar size to Fe-rich inclusions found within macrophages from mice injected with asbestos fibres in a previous study. As such, the spherical components composing the AFBs may result from the deposition of Fe-rich inclusions during frustrated phagocytosis. The AFBs were also variable in terms of their Fe, P and Ca abundances, with some layers recording higher Fe concentrations (dense layers), whilst others lower Fe concentrations (porous layers). Furthermore, smokers were found to have smaller and overall denser AFBs than non-smokers.
Conclusions@The AFBs of smokers and non-smokers show differences in their morphology, indicating they grew in lung environments that experienced disparate conditions. Both the asbestos fibres of smokers and non-smokers were likely subjected to frustrated phagocytosis and accreted mucopolysaccharides, resulting in Fe accumulation and AFB formation. However, smokers' AFBs experienced a more uniform Fe-supply within the lung environment compared to non-smokers, likely due to Fe complexation from cigarette smoke, yielding denser, smaller and more Fe-rich AFBs. Moreover, the lack of any non-ferrihydrite Fe phases in the AFBs may indicate that the ferritin shell was intact, and that ROS may not be the main driver for the onset of MM. en-copyright= kn-copyright= en-aut-name=AvramescuMaya-Liliana en-aut-sei=Avramescu en-aut-mei=Maya-Liliana kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=1 ORCID= en-aut-name=PotiszilChristian en-aut-sei=Potiszil en-aut-mei=Christian kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=2 ORCID= en-aut-name=KunihiroTak en-aut-sei=Kunihiro en-aut-mei=Tak kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=3 ORCID= en-aut-name=OkabeKazunori en-aut-sei=Okabe en-aut-mei=Kazunori kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=4 ORCID= en-aut-name=NakamuraEizo en-aut-sei=Nakamura en-aut-mei=Eizo kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=5 ORCID= affil-num=1 en-affil=The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=2 en-affil=The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=3 en-affil=The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=4 en-affil=Bell Land General Hospital kn-affil= affil-num=5 en-affil=The Pheasant Memorial Laboratory for Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University kn-affil= en-keyword=Asbestos fibre kn-keyword=Asbestos fibre en-keyword=Asbestos body kn-keyword=Asbestos body en-keyword=Malignant mesothelioma kn-keyword=Malignant mesothelioma en-keyword=Asbestos body internal morphology kn-keyword=Asbestos body internal morphology END start-ver=1.4 cd-journal=joma no-vol=574 cd-vols= no-issue=15 article-no= start-page=117149 end-page= dt-received= dt-revised= dt-accepted= dt-pub-year=2021 dt-pub=202111 dt-online= en-article= kn-article= en-subject= kn-subject= en-title= kn-title=Heterogeneity within refractory organic matter from CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrites: Evidence from Raman spectroscopy en-subtitle= kn-subtitle= en-abstract= kn-abstract=CM2 chondrites experienced widespread aqueous and short term thermal alteration on their parent bodies. Whilst previous Raman spectroscopic investigations have investigated insoluble organic matter (IOM), they have not taken into account the binary nature of IOM. Studies employing mass spectrometry have indicated that IOM also known as macromolecular organic matter (MOM) is in fact composed of two distinct fractions: labile organic matter (LOM) and refractory organic matter (ROM). The ROM component represents the aromatic rich and heteroatom poor component of IOM/MOM, whilst the LOM fraction represents a more heteroatom and aliphatic rich component. Here we report Raman 2D maps and spectroscopic data for Murchison and Mighei, both before and after chemical degradation, which attacks and liberates LOM. The removal of LOM simulates the effects of aqueous alteration, where ester and ether bonds are broken and is thought to release some components to the soluble organic matter (SOM) fraction, also known as the free organic matter fraction (FOM). Raman spectroscopy can be used to reveal the nature of bonding (sp2and sp3) within carbonaceous materials such as meteoritic organic matter, through evaluation of the D and G band peak centres and FWHM values from the recorded data. The presence of sp3orbitals indicates that the organic materials contain aliphatic linkages and/or heteroatoms. Statistical analysis of the Raman parameters obtained here indicates that the organic matter originating the Raman response is indistinguishable between the bulk (chemically untreated) and chemically degraded (treated with KOH and HI) samples. Such an observation indicates that the ROM fraction is the major contributor to the Raman response of meteoritic organic matter and thus Raman spectroscopy is unlikely to record any aqueous alteration processes that have affected meteoritic organic matter. Therefore, studies which use Raman to probe the IOM are investigating just one of the components of IOM and not the entire fraction. Studies that aim to investigate the effects of aqueous alteration on meteoritic organic matter should use alternate techniques to Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the indistinguishable nature of the Raman response of ROM from Murchison and Mighei suggests these meteorites inherited a ROM component that is chemically similar, reflecting either a common process for the formation of CM2 meteoritic ROM and/or that these meteorites probed the same ROM reservoir. en-copyright= kn-copyright= en-aut-name=PotiszilChristian en-aut-sei=Potiszil en-aut-mei=Christian kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=1 ORCID= en-aut-name=MontgomeryWren en-aut-sei=Montgomery en-aut-mei=Wren kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=2 ORCID= en-aut-name=SephtonMark A. en-aut-sei=Sephton en-aut-mei=Mark A. kn-aut-name= kn-aut-sei= kn-aut-mei= aut-affil-num=3 ORCID= affil-num=1 en-affil=Pheasant Memorial Laboratory, Institute for Planetary Materials, Okayama University kn-affil= affil-num=2 en-affil=Imaging and Analysis Centre, The Natural History Museum kn-affil= affil-num=3 en-affil=Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London kn-affil= en-keyword=carbonaceous chondrite kn-keyword=carbonaceous chondrite en-keyword=Raman spectroscopy kn-keyword=Raman spectroscopy en-keyword=refractory organic matter kn-keyword=refractory organic matter en-keyword=heterogeneity kn-keyword=heterogeneity en-keyword=alteration kn-keyword=alteration END