Prof. Pfau in her laboratory
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded a $191,962 grant to an Idaho State University professor to explore the health effects of asbestos at the cellular level. “We’re trying to understand the way asbestos affects the immune system leading to systemic autoimmune disorders, such as lupus,” says Jean Pfau, assistant professor of biological sciences at Idaho State.
The grant, titled “The Role of System xc in Asbestos Induced Autoimmune Responses” funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will last two years.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause cancer in humans including lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung. Professor Pfau is of the opinion that tremolite asbestos found in Libby, Montana may, in addition to causing cancer, also be linked to increased autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it.
With respect to asbestos, the cells that first encounter asbestos after exposure are white blood cells called macrophages. Pfau believes that macrophages may use glutamate to signal the immune system to react. Pfau theorizes that after asbestos contaminant exposure, the macrophages engage in mistaken signaling, causing the immune system to become overactive and produce excessive antibodies, creating diseases such as lupus. She will look at how different forms of asbestos affect the immune system. All forms of asbestos cause cancer in humans. However, the exact correlation between asbestos fiber types and autoimmune disorders remains largely unknown.
