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Biomedical subjects

Ivan D Dobrev

Publications and source records attributed to Ivan D Dobrev.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluation of potential toxicity from co-exposure to three CNS depressants (toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) under resting and working conditions using PBPK modeling.

Under OSHA and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) guidelines, the mixture formula (unity calculation) provides a method for evaluating exposures to mixtures of chemicals that cause similar toxicities. According to the formula, if exposures are reduced in proportion to the number of chemicals and their respective exposure limits, the overall exposure is acceptable. This approach assumes that responses are additive, which is not the case when pharmacokinetic interactions occur. To determine the validity of the additivity assumption, we performed unity calculations for a variety of exposures to toluene, ethylbenzene, and/or xylene using the concentration of each chemical in blood in the calculation instead of the inhaled concentration. The blood concentrations were predicted using a validated physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to allow exploration of a variety of exposure scenarios. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and ACGIH occupational exposure limits were largely based on studies of humans or animals that were resting during exposure. The PBPK model was also used to determine the increased concentration of chemicals in the blood when employees were exercising or performing manual work. At rest, a modest overexposure occurs due to pharmacokinetic interactions when exposure is equal to levels where a unity calculation is 1.0 based on threshold limit values (TLVs). Under work load, however, internal exposure was 87%higher than provided by the TLVs. When exposures were controlled by a unity calculation based on permissible exposure limits (PELs), internal exposure was 2.9 and 4.6 times the exposures at the TLVs at rest and workload, respectively. If exposure was equal to PELs outright, internal exposure was 12.5 and 16 times the exposure at the TLVs at rest and workload, respectively. These analyses indicate the importance of (1) selecting appropriate exposure limits, (2) performing unity calculations, and (3) considering the effect of work load on internal doses, and they illustrate the utility of PBPK modeling in occupational health risk assessment.

Animals↗

Stochastic simulation of hepatic preneoplastic foci development for four chlorobenzene congeners in a medium-term bioassay.

A combination of experimental and simulation approaches was used to analyze clonal growth of glutathione-S-transferase pi (GST-P) enzyme-altered foci during liver carcinogenesis in an initiation-promotion regimen for 1,4-dichlorobenzene (DCB), 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene (TECB), pentachlorobenzene (PECB), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Male Fisher 344 rats, eight weeks of age, were initiated with a single dose (200 mg/kg, ip) of diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Two weeks later, daily dosing of 0.1 mol/kg chlorobenzene was maintained for six weeks. Partial hepatectomy was performed three weeks after initiation. Liver weight, normal hepatocyte division rates, and the number and volume of GST-P positive foci were obtained at 23, 26, 28, 47, and 56 days after initiation. A clonal growth stochastic model separating the initiated cell population into two distinct subtypes (referred to as A and B cells) was successfully used to describe the foci development data for the four chlorobenzenes. The B cells are initiated cells that display a selective growth advantage under conditions that inhibit the growth of initiated A cells or normal hepatocytes. The simulation exercise for the four chlorobenzenes indicates a positive correlation between the estimated net growth rate of B cells during the 2-week regeneration period following partial hepatectomy and final foci volume at the end of the bioassay. This observation is consistent with the sensitivity analysis of model parameters. While TECB, PECB, and HCB all significantly increased foci volume, only HCB increased normal hepatocyte proliferation. Together, these results indicate that examining effects of chemicals on regenerative responses following partial hepatectomy may be a means for understanding the carcinogenicity potential of chlorobenzene compounds.

Administration, Oral↗

Closed-chamber inhalation pharmacokinetic studies with hexamethyldisiloxane in the rat.

Gas uptake methods together with physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling have been used to assess metabolic parameters and oral absorption rates for a wide variety of volatile organic compounds. We applied these techniques to study the in vivo metabolism of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS), a volatile siloxane with low blood/air (partition coefficient PB approximately 1.00) and high fat/blood partitioning (partition coefficient PF approximately 300). In contrast to other classes of metabolized volatiles, metabolic parameters could only be estimated from closed-chamber results with confidence by evaluating both closed-chamber disappearance curves and constant concentration inhalation studies. The constant-concentration inhalation results refine the estimate of the blood/air partition coefficient and constrain model structure for storage of the lipophilic compound in blood and tissues. The gas uptake results, from Fischer 344 rats (male, 8-9 wk old) exposed to initial HMDS air concentrations from 500 to 5000 ppm, were modeled with a 5-tissue PBPK model. Excellent fits were obtained with diffusion-limited uptake of HMDS in fat and a lipid storage pool in the blood. Metabolism, restricted to the liver, was described as a single saturable process (V(max) = 113.6 micro mol/h/kg; K(m) = 42.6 micro mol/L) and was affected by inhibitors (diethyldithiocarbamate) or inducers (phenobarbital) of cytochrome P-450s. Exhalation kinetics of HMDS after oral/intraperitoneal administration showed low bioavailability and significant lag times, also quite different from results of other classes of volatile hydrocarbons. In general, estimates of metabolic clearance by gas uptake studies were improved by simultaneous examination of time-course results from constant concentration inhalation studies. This conclusion is likely to hold for any volatile lipophilic compound with low blood/air partitioning.

Adipose Tissue↗

Physiological modeling of inhalation kinetics of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane in humans during rest and exercise.

In a recent pharmacokinetic study, six human volunteers were exposed by inhalation to 10 ppm (14)C-D(4) for 1 h during alternating periods of rest and exercise. Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D(4)) concentrations were determined in exhaled breath and blood. Total metabolite concentrations were estimated in blood, while the amounts of individual metabolites were measured in urine. Here, we use these data to develop a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for D(4) in humans. Consistent with PBPK modeling efforts for D(4) in the rat, a conventional inhalation PBPK model assuming flow-limited tissue uptake failed to adequately describe these data. A refined model with sequestered D(4) in blood, diffusion-limited tissue uptake, and an explicit pathway for D(4) metabolism to short-chain linear siloxanes successfully described all data. Hepatic extraction in these volunteers, calculated from model parameters, was 0.65 to 0.8, i.e., hepatic clearance was nearly flow-limited. The decreased retention of inhaled D(4) seen in humans during periods of exercise was explained by altered ventilation/perfusion characteristics during exercise and a rapid approach to steady-state conditions. The urinary time course excretion of metabolites was consistent with a metabolic scheme in which sequential hydrolysis of linear siloxanes followed oxidative demethylation and ring opening. The unusual properties of D(4) (high lipophilicity coupled with high hepatic and exhalation clearance) lead to rapid decreases in free D(4) in blood. The success of D(4) PBPK models with a similar physiological structure in both humans and rats increases confidence in the utility of the model for predicting human tissue concentrations of D(4) and metabolites during inhalation exposures.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

In silico toxicology: simulating interaction thresholds for human exposure to mixtures of trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane.

In this study, we integrated our understanding of biochemistry, physiology, and metabolism of three commonly used organic solvents with computer simulation to present a new approach that we call "in silico" toxicology. Thus, we developed an interactive physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to predict the individual kinetics of trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PERC), and methylchloroform (MC) in humans exposed to differently constituted chemical mixtures of the three solvents. Model structure and parameterization originate from the literature. We calibrated the single-compound PBPK models using published data and described metabolic interactions within the chemical mixture using kinetic constants estimated in rats. The mixture model was used to explore the general pharmacokinetic profile of two common biomarkers of exposure, peak TCE blood levels and total amount of TCE metabolites generated, in rats and humans. Assuming that a 10% change in the biomarkers corresponds to a significant health effect, we calculated interaction thresholds for binary and ternary mixtures of TCE, PERC, and MC. Increases in the TCE blood levels led to higher availability of the parent compound for glutathione conjugation, a metabolic pathway associated with kidney toxicity/carcinogenicity. The simulated change in production rates of toxic conjugative metabolites exceeded 17% for a corresponding 10% increase in TCE blood concentration, indicating a nonlinear risk increase due to combined exposures to TCE. Evaluation of metabolic interactions and their thresholds illustrates a unique application of PBPK modeling in risk assessment of occupational exposures to chemical mixtures.

Biological Availability↗

Application of biologically based computer modeling to simple or complex mixtures.

The complexity and the astronomic number of possible chemical mixtures preclude any systematic experimental assessment of toxicology of all potentially troublesome chemical mixtures. Thus, the use of computer modeling and mechanistic toxicology for the development of a predictive tool is a promising approach to deal with chemical mixtures. In the past 15 years or so, physiologically based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) modeling has been applied to the toxicologic interactions of chemical mixtures. This approach is promising for relatively simple chemical mixtures; the most complicated chemical mixtures studied so far using this approach contained five or fewer component chemicals. In this presentation we provide some examples of the utility of PBPK/PD modeling for toxicologic interactions in chemical mixtures. The probability of developing predictive tools for simple mixtures using PBPK/PD modeling is high. Unfortunately, relatively few attempts have been made to develop paradigms to consider the risks posed by very complex chemical mixtures such as gasoline, diesel, tobacco smoke, etc. However, recent collaboration between scientists at Colorado State University and engineers at Rutgers University attempting to use reaction network modeling has created hope for the possible development of a modeling approach with the potential of predicting the outcome of toxicology of complex chemical mixtures. We discuss the applications of reaction network modeling in the context of petroleum refining and its potential for elucidating toxic interactions with mixtures.

Computer Simulation↗