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The article presents a comparative study on the fibrotic effects of Libby amphibole (LA) and of crocidolite asbestos in lungs. It mentions that C57BI/6 mice were exposed to crocidolite asbestos or LA and that its RNA, protein, and morphology were analyzed. The use of histological examination reveals the increase of collagen in the airways of the mice treated with crocidolite. It states the application of trichrome staining to visualize the localization of fibrillar collagen and of light microscopy to examine the sections. It mentions the important role of collagen accumulation and scar tissue production in the development of fibrosis.

The exposure of Libby MT residents to amphibole-contaminated vermiculite is well known. To explore the gene-environment interactions in the development of asbestos-related diseases (ARD), a mouse model of asbestos exposure using Six-mix (a combination of amphibole fibers gathered from six sites at the Libby vermiculite mine), crocidolite asbestos, or saline as a negative control was used to determine both gene expression responses by using mouse 10,000 oligonucleotide array and to visualize these changes histologically. Mice were sacrificed and whole lungs harvested for histology and microarray analysis six months following exposure via intratracheal instillation. Using an arbitrary cutoff of 1.25-fold change, genes whose RNA expression levels were specifically altered in response to the different amphibole exposures were grouped into categories by a gene ontology analysis program, GoMiner. Our hypothesis was that assessment of asbestos-responsive genes would provide a better understanding of response mechanisms. These experiments have provided new candidates for genes involved in the asbestos response pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]