PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R O McClellan

Publications and source records attributed to R O McClellan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Retention patterns for inhaled particles in the lung: comparisons between laboratory animals and humans for chronic exposures.

In the absence of adequate data exclusively from studies of inhaled particles in people, the results of inhalation studies using laboratory animals are necessary to estimate particle retention in exposed people. To make accurate projections from animal studies and the limited human data, it is necessary to consider species similarities and differences in lung retention and accumulation patterns for inhaled materials. This paper reviews species similarities and differences in pulmonary retention and clearance for inhaled particles, with emphasis on animal species most commonly used in inhalation toxicology research (rats, guinea pigs, dogs, and nonhuman primates). Simulation models for these four species and for humans were used to compare projected lung burdens which would be accumulated during chronic inhalation exposures. These simulation models project an eightfold difference among these species in the lung concentration of particles per gram of lung after a 2-y chronic inhalation exposure to the same aerosol for 8 h d-1, 5 d wk-1. The largest lung accumulation would occur in guinea pigs, the smallest in rats. To reach the same target lung concentration of particles in the lungs of both animals would therefore require about an eightfold difference in air concentration of the exposure material. These comparisons are useful for selecting appropriate laboratory animal species to study as surrogates for humans, for setting aerosol concentrations to use in inhalation studies, and for making approximations of lung burdens that would result from defined exposure scenarios.

Aerosols↗

Distribution of DNA adducts in the respiratory tract of rats exposed to diesel exhaust.

Diesel exhaust, inhaled chronically at high concentrations, was previously found to be a pulmonary carcinogen in rats. The exhaust-induced tumors were located exclusively in the peripheral lung, although all of the respiratory tract tissues were exposed to the exhaust. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were differences in the level of DNA adducts among the regions of the respiratory tract that paralleled the site of tumors. Groups of male F344/N rats were exposed 7 hr/day, 5 day/week for 12 weeks to diesel engine exhaust at a soot concentration of 10 mg/m3 or were sham-exposed to air. The maxilloturbinates, ethmoturbinates, trachea, left mainstem bronchus (airway generation 1), axial airway (airway generations 2-12), and peripheral lung tissue were dissected from the respiratory tract. DNA was isolated from the dissected samples and analyzed for the presence of adducts using the 32P-postlabeling assay. Chromatographic maps of DNA adducts demonstrated unique patterns of DNA adducts for each of the regions. The highest level of total DNA adducts occurred in peripheral lung tissue (approximately 20 adducts per 10(9) bases). The level of DNA adducts detected in the nasal tissues was about one-fourth to one-fifth that detected in peripheral lung. There were less than three adducts per 10(9) bases in each of the regions of the major conducting airways (i.e., trachea, bronchi, axial airway). In control rats, levels of DNA adducts ranged from one adduct per 10(9) bases (mainstem bronchi, axial airway) to about nine adducts per 10(9) bases (parenchyma). The data from this study indicate that higher levels of total DNA adducts and exhaust-induced adducts (i.e., exposed minus control adducts) were present in tissues where exhaust-induced tumors were located. These data suggest that DNA adduct levels in discrete locations of the respiratory tract may be good measures of the "effective dose" of carcinogenic compounds.

Animals↗

Preparing for the twenty-first century: report of the TOX-90's Commission. Planning Committee.

A clear consensus developed that toxicology will be driven by advances in related fields. New technology and knowledge developed by all relevant disciplines, therefore, must be integrated into toxicology; progress in toxicology demands that the discipline must increasingly address good science and the scientific method. Issues of critical importance to the field, such as risk estimation of the health effects of chemical and physical agents and the education of toxicologists, can only be addressed by meeting these objectives.

Toxicology↗

Response of rodents to inhaled diluted diesel exhaust: biochemical and cytological changes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and in lung tissue.

The effect of long-term (24 months) inhalation of diesel exhaust on the bronchoalveolar region of the respiratory tract of rodents was assessed by serial (every 6 months) analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and of lung tissue from F344/Crl rats and CD-1 mice (both sexes) exposed to diesel exhaust diluted to contain 0, 0.35, 3.5, or 7.0 mg soot/m3. The purpose of the study was twofold. One was to assess the potential health effects of inhaling diluted exhaust from light-duty diesel engines. The second was to determine the usefulness of BALF analysis in detecting the early stages in the development of nononcogenic lung disease and differentiating them from the normal repair processes. No biochemical or cytological changes in BALF or in lung tissue were noted in either species exposed to the lowest, and most environmentally relevant, concentration of diesel exhaust. In the two higher levels of exposure, a chronic inflammatory response was measured in both species by dose-dependent increases in inflammatory cells, cytoplasmic and lysosomal enzymes, and protein in BALF. Histologically, after 1 year of exposure, the rats had developed focal areas of fibrosis associated with the deposits of soot, while the mice, despite a higher lung burden of soot than the rats, had only a fine fibrillar thickening of an occasional alveolar septa in the high-level exposure group. Higher increases in BALF beta-glucuronidase activity and in hydroxyproline content accompanied the greater degree of fibrosis in the rat. BALF levels of glutathione (GSH) and glutathione reductase activity increased in a dose-dependent fashion and were higher in mice than in rats. Lung tissue GSH was depleted in a dose-dependent fashion in rats but was slightly increased in mice. This depletion may have played a role in the greater fibrogenic response observed in rats. Other tissue changes in enzymatic activity were small compared to changes observed in BALF. The exposure did not increase the cytochrome P-450 content of the lung in either species. The results suggest that, for the noncarcinogenic health effects reported in this paper, there is a threshold of exposure below which adverse effects were not observed. This threshold was well above environmentally relevant levels of diesel exhaust but may be in the range of some occupational exposures. The analysis of BALF proved a useful adjunct to the chronic toxicity study to quantitate the inflammatory changes accompanying the development of pulmonary disease.

Animals↗

Uptake of 19 hydrocarbon vapors inhaled by F344 rats.

The comparative rates of uptake of 19 hydrocarbon vapors by rats were determined by a dual-column gas chromatograph method. The hydrocarbons ranged in volatility from propylene (BP -47.7 degrees C) to 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (BP 169 degrees C). Representative compounds from the chemical classes of alkenes, alkynes, straight-chain and branched alkanes, alicyclics, and aromatics were examined. Trends observed included: (1) highly volatile hydrocarbons were less well-absorbed than less volatile hydrocarbons; (2) unsaturated compounds were better absorbed than saturated ones; and (3) branched hydrocarbons were less well-absorbed than unbranched ones. The data indicate that uptake rates among inhaled hydrocarbon vapors may be predicted from the molecular structures and physical properties of the hydrocarbons.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Studies on the ability of rat lung and liver microsomes to facilitate transfer and metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene from diesel particles.

Little is known about the bioavailability of inhaled organic compounds that are associated with particles. It is known that certain particle-associated organic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) adsorbed on diesel soot particles, are retained in the lung longer than PAH inhaled in pure form. If such particle-associated compounds are available for tissue interaction, their prolonged retention may result in an increased potential for a toxic effect. To determine the factors affecting the bioavailability of particle-associated PAH, we have studied the ability of microsomes to facilitate transfer of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) adsorbed on the surface of diesel exhaust soot particles to the microsomes and the ability of the microsomes to metabolize the transferred B[a]P. Our results indicate that rat lung and liver microsomes were able to facilitate the transfer of small amounts of B[a]P from diesel particles (less than 3%), but only a fraction of the amount transferred (1-2%) was metabolized. Under the same incubation conditions without soot, free B[a]P was extensively metabolized by microsomes, principally to B[a]P-9,10-diol. Lung microsomes were about twice as effective as liver microsomes for the transfer of the B[a]P. The ability to transfer B[a]P to the microsomes was independent of metabolism or the presence of protein, but was related to the lipid content of the microsomal fraction. There was no metabolism of the B[a]P coated on diesel particles as analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. These findings suggest that microsomes are able to enhance the slow transfer of only a small amount of B[a]P from diesel particles in a form that can be metabolized. However, over a long period of time, this slow release might be significant.

Adsorption↗

Species differences in release of arachidonate metabolites in response to inhaled diluted diesel exhaust.

In life-span studies in CD-1 mice and F344/Crl rats, inhaled diluted diesel exhaust was highly fibrogenic in rats but not in mice. This was the case despite the higher lung burden, in mg soot/g lung, achieved in mice compared to rats. We tested the hypothesis that the greater fibrogenicity of the soot in rats was due in part to greater release of mediators of inflammation from alveolar cells in rats compared to mice. Female F344/rats and B6C3F1 mice were exposed for up to 17 days to diluted diesel exhaust containing 3.5 mg/m3 of soot. The lungs of control and soot-exposed animals were lavaged after 2, 12 or 17 days of exposure. The presence of leukotriene (LT)B4, LTC4, prostaglandin (PG)E2, PGF2 alpha and thromboxane (TX) B2 in the lavage fluids and LTB4 and PGF2 alpha in cultured lavage cell supernatants was determined. The total amount of each lavage fluid constituent was normalized to lung weight for species comparisons. Control rats had higher levels of TXB2 (16-fold), and LTB4 (6-fold) and PGE2 (2-fold) than control mice, but control mice had higher amounts of LTC4 (4-fold). Control rats and mice had approximately the same amounts of PGF2 alpha/g lung in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Rats exposed to diesel exhaust had increases in BALF PGF2 alpha and LTB4 that were highest after 2 days of exposure and decreased thereafter. Mice had lesser increases in both parameters. Rat cells recovered from lavage fluid released larger amounts of LTB4 into culture supernatants than mouse cells. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that soot-laden rat alveolar cells release greater quantities of mediators of inflammation than do the alveolar cells in mice.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Prospects for new information relevant to radiation protection from studies of experimental animals.

The theory underlying radiation protection was developed from studies of people, laboratory animals, tissues, cells and macromolecules. Data on people were obtained from opportunistic studies of individuals previously exposed to radiation. Rarely has it been possible to conduct prospective studies of people exposed to known quantities of radiation, which sharply restricts the nature of questions that they can address. In contrast, studies using laboratory animals and simpler biological systems can be designed to address specific questions, using controlled exposure conditions. In-vitro research with macromolecules, cells and tissues leads to understanding normal and disease processes in isolated biological components. Studies of the intact animals provide opportunities to study in vivo interactive mechanisms observed in vitro and their role in development of radiation-induced diseases such as cancer. In the future, studies of intact animals should prove increasingly valuable in linking new knowledge at the subanimal level with the more fragmentary information obtained from direct observations on people. This will provide insight into important issues such as (a) effects of low-level radiation exposures, (b) mechanism of cancer induction at high versus low radiation doses, and (c) influence of factors such as nutrition and exposure to chemicals on radiation-induced cancer. This presentation describes strategies for conducting and integrating results of research using macromolecules, cells, tissues, laboratory animals and people to improve our understanding of radiation-induced cancer. It will also emphasize the problems encountered in studies at all levels of biological organization when the disease is observed in low "excess incidence" long after exposure to the toxicant.

Animals↗

Future development of biological understanding of radiation protection: implications of nonstochastic effects.

Radiation-protection standards are based on minimizing or preventing biological effects in exposed populations. Radiation-induced biological effects can be classified as stochastic--malignant and hereditary diseases for which the probability of an effect occurring is a function of dose without threshold--and nonstochastic--inflammatory and degenerative diseases for which the severity and frequency of the effect varies with the dose and for which a threshold is present. The current International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) approach for setting limits for intakes of radionuclides by workers, which accounts for doses to significantly exposed organs of the body, is based on limitation of stochastic effects in most situations. When setting exposure limits, nonstochastic effects are generally considered to be unlikely at the limits for stochastic effects. In some situations, limits based on prevention of nonstochastic effects are lower than for stochastic effects. This review considers the threshold radiation doses for thyroid, bone, liver and lung and their relationship to the limits recommended by the ICRP and the cancer risks at the limits. This review indicates that the threshold dose for nonstochastic effects in thyroid and lung is much above the dose limit as advocated by ICRP. The threshold dose for nonstochastic effects in bone and liver is much closer to the dose limit, but protection from nonstochastic effects should still be afforded by the dose limits.

Animals↗

Risk estimators for radiation-induced bone marrow syndrome lethality in humans.

This manuscript provides risk estimators for acute lethality from radiation-induced injury to the bone marrow of humans after uniform total-body exposure to low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation. The risk estimators are needed for nuclear disaster risk assessment. The approach used is based on the dose X, in units of D50 (i.e., the dose required for 50% lethality). Using animal data, it is demonstrated that the use of dose in units of D50 eliminates most of the variability associated with mammalian species, type of low-LET radiation, and low-LET dose rate. Animal data are used to determine the shape of the dose-effect curve for marrow-syndrome lethality in man and to develop a functional relationship for the dependence of the D50 on dose rate. The functional relationship is used, along with the Weibull model, to develop acute lethality risk estimators for complex temporal patterns of continuous exposure to low-LET radiation. Animal data are used to test model predictions.

Bone Marrow↗

Primary liver tumors in beagle dogs exposed by inhalation to aerosols of plutonium-238 dioxide.

Primary liver tumors developed in Beagle dogs exposed by inhalation to aerosols of 238PuO2. Initial deposition of 238PuO2 in the respiratory tract was followed by translocation of a portion of the 238Pu to the liver and skeleton, which resulted in a large dose commitment and tumor risk to all three tissues. In a population of 144 dogs exposed to 238PuO2, 112 dogs died or were killed 4000 days after 238Pu exposure, 100 dogs had osteosarcoma, and 28 dogs had lung cancers. At increasing times after exposure, however, liver lesions have become more pronounced. Ten primary liver tumors in nine animals were diagnosed in the dogs dying before 4000 days after exposure. An additional five primary liver tumors in three dogs occurred in 9 animals killed after 4000 days after exposure. The majority of these tumors have been fibrosarcomas. The liver tumors were usually not the cause of death, and rarely metastasized. The occurrence of liver tumors in this study indicates that 238Pu is an effective hepatic carcinogen. Liver carcinogenesis is assuming an increasing importance in this study at late times after inhalation exposure. These results suggest that the liver may be an important organ at risk for the development of neoplasia in humans at time periods long after inhalation of 238Pu.

Administration, Inhalation↗

A rapid method for determining soot content of lungs in diesel-exposed rodents.

A rapid optical method for determining the quantity of soot in the lungs of rodents exposed to diluted diesel exhaust has been developed. The method is nondestructive to enzymatic components of the lung, allowing dose and biochemical assays to be done on the same sample. The lung burdens of soot were determined by comparing the extinction of light at 620 nm of lung homogenates from exposed animals to that of lung homogenates containing spiked standards.

Air Pollutants↗

Diesel exhaust is a pulmonary carcinogen in rats exposed chronically by inhalation.

Male and female F344 rats were exposed 7 hr/day, 5 day/week for up to 30 months to automotive diesel engine exhaust at soot concentrations of 0.35, 3.5, or 7.0 mg/m3 or were sham-exposed to clean air. Rats were terminated at 6-month intervals to measure lung burdens of diesel soot and for histopathology. Other rats either died or were terminated after 30 months of exposure. Lungs were fixed, sectioned into 3-mm slices, and examined by a dissecting microscope to detect tumors. Lesions were stained and examined by light microscopy. Survival and body weight were unaffected by exposure. Focal fibrotic and proliferative lung disease accompanied a progressive accumulation of soot in the lung. The prevalence of lung tumors was significantly increased at the high (13%) and medium (4%) dose levels above the control prevalence (1%). Four tumor types, all of epithelial origin, were observed: adenoma, adenocarcinoma, squamous cyst, and squamous cell carcinoma. Logistic regression modeling demonstrated a significant relationship between tumor prevalence and both exposure concentration and soot lung burden. These results demonstrate that diesel exhaust, inhaled chronically at a high concentration, is a pulmonary carcinogen in the rat.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Alterations in particle accumulation and clearance in lungs of rats chronically exposed to diesel exhaust.

F344 rats were chronically exposed to diesel exhaust at target soot concentrations of 0 (control, C), 0.35 (low, L), 3.5 (medium, M), and 7.0 (high, H) mg/m3. Accumulated lung burdens of diesel soot were measured after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of exposure. Parallel measurements of particle deposition and clearance were made to provide insight into the mechanisms of particle accumulation in lungs. The fractional deposition of inhaled 67Ga2O3 particles after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of exposure and of inhaled 134Cs-fused aluminosilicate particles after 24 months were similar for all groups. Progressive increases in lung burdens of soot particles were observed in M and H exposed rats, reaching levels of 11.5 +/- 0.5 and 20.5 +/- 0.8 mg/lung (mean +/- SE), respectively, after 24 months. Rats in the L group had smaller relative increases in lung burden, reaching levels of 0.60 +/- 0.02 mg/lung after 24 months. Tracheal mucociliary clearance measurements, using 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin deposited in the trachea, showed no changes at anytime. There were statistically significant increases in clearance half-times of inhaled radiolabeled particles of 67Ga2O3 as early as 6 months at the H level and 18 months at the M level; no significant changes were seen at the L level. Rats inhaled fused aluminosilicate particles labeled with 134Cs after 24 months of diesel exhaust exposure to measure long-term components of pulmonary clearance. The long-term clearance half-times were 79 +/- 5, 81 +/- 5, 264 +/- 50, and 240 +/- 50 days (mean +/- SE) for the C, L, M, and H groups, respectively. Differences were significant between the C and both the M and H exposure groups (p less than 0.01). Lung burdens of diesel soot were more than expected at the H and M levels and were also associated with impaired particle clearance while smaller responses were observed in both burdens and clearance at the L level.

Animals↗

Health effects of exposure to diesel exhaust particles.

Diesel-powered vehicles emit substantially more particles than do gasoline-powered vehicles with contemporary emission control systems. The DEP are submicron in size and readily inhaled. Approximately one-fourth of the particle mass inhaled by people is deposited in the pulmonary region, some of which is retained with a half-life of several hundred days. In animal studies, exposure to high levels of DEP overwhelms the normal clearance mechanisms and results in lung burdens of DEP that exceed those predicted from observations at lower exposure concentrations. A variable amount of the mass of DEP is extractable with strong organic solvents. The extracted material contains more than a thousand individual compounds and is mutagenic in a number of bacterial and mammalian cell assays. Bioassay-directed chemical analysis of DEP had identified several hundred compounds. Many are PAHs, some of which are considered to have human carcinogenic potential. A number of nitrated compounds have been identified that account for a significant portion of the mutagenicity assayed in bacteria. The mutagenicity of the DEPE is generally reduced by addition of an S-9 cellular fraction or of serum proteins. Macrophages rapidly reduce the recoverable mutagenic activity associated with DEP. These findings support a hypothesis that detoxification of DEP-associated organics occurs rapidly in vivo. The association of benzo(a)pyrene and nitropyrene with DEP prolongs their retention in the lungs. This increased retention suggests the need to clarify the relative importance of competing mechanisms that detoxify particle-associated compounds and those that serve to enhance the retention of toxicologically important compounds. Some extracts of DEP evoke tumorigenic responses in skin-tumor bioassays, suggesting their carcinogenic potential in mammals. A number of large-scale studies have been conducted with laboratory rodents to evaluate the effects of chronic inhalation exposure to DE. An increased incidence of lung tumors, some of which were diagnosed as malignant, was observed in 5 studies with rats following exposure for 2 or more years to high levels of DE. Most of the lung tumors were observed after 2 years. Similar studies in Syrian hamsters have yielded negative results. Studies with mice have given mixed results. The results of some studies with laboratory animals exposed to DE and known carcinogens suggest that exposure to DE enhances the effect of the known carcinogens. The specific mechanisms of tumor induction in the DE-exposed rats are unknown. Hypotheses and experimental data have been advanced in support of both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of action of the DE.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Single inhalation exposure to 90SrCl2 in the beagle dog: late biological effects.

Late-occurring biologic effects were studied in beagle dogs that were given graded levels of 90SrCl2 via single brief inhalation exposures and were subsequently observed for their life-span. Due to the soluble chemical form of the aerosol, 90Sr was rapidly translocated from lung and deposited in bone where it was subsequently retained for a long period of time. Radiation-induced lesions were confined to the bone, bone marrow, and adjacent soft tissue. Forty-five primary bone tumors occurred in 31 of 66 exposed dogs. Metastasis occurred from 21 tumors, with the lung being the most frequent site of metastasis (76%). Twenty-seven tumors were classified as different subtypes of osteosarcoma, 14 as hemangiosarcomas, 3 as fibrosarcomas, and 1 as a myxosarcoma. Four carcinomas arising from soft tissues adjacent to bone were also considered to be 90Sr induced. In contrast to bone tumors arising in beagles chronically exposed to 90Sr through ingestion, histologic lesions of radiation osteodystrophy were minimal in this study, indicating that these lesions are not a necessary precursor of osteosarcoma development. The incidences of hemangiosarcomas (31%) and telangiectatic osteosarcomas (11%) in addition to osteosarcomas suggest that the cell of origin for all of these neoplasms is a multipotent mesenchymal cell with the potential for various morphologic expressions dependent on local environmental factors.

Aerosols↗

Dosimetry of 239Pu in dogs that inhaled monodisperse aerosols of 239PuO2.

Existing data from human exposure cases and experimental animal studies on the fate and dosimetry of inhaled insoluble Pu particles are inadequate to provide a comprehensive description and evaluation of the tissues at risk from the alpha radiations of Pu. To improve our knowledge of the dosimetry of inhaled insoluble 239PuO2, this paper describes the uptake and retention of 239Pu in the tissues of dogs that received single inhalation exposures to monodisperse aerosols of 239PuO2. These data include times through 3 years after exposure. Using analytical functions fitted to each tissue data set, 1100-day radiation doses were calculated for lung, liver, skeleton, kidney, spleen, and tracheobronchial, mediastinal, sternal, hepatic, mandibular, and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. The dosimetry results suggest that the lung and lymph nodes associated with lymphatic drainage of the respiratory tract are the principal sites of alpha irradiation. However, the doses for the different respiratory tract lymph nodes vary by a factor of 2000, suggesting that assuming equivalent doses to respiratory tract lymph nodes is not appropriate. Other tissues receive radiation doses also but at levels one to three orders of magnitude less than the lung. Particle size dependence on uptake and retention was noted for the skeleton, mediastinal lymph nodes, hepatic lymph nodes, retropharyngeal lymph nodes, and mandibular lymph nodes.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Single inhalation exposure to 90SrCl2 in the beagle dog: hematological effects.

The toxicity of 90Sr administered by the inhalation route was studied in young adult Beagle dogs exposed once to aerosols containing 90SrCl2. Due to its relatively soluble chemical form, 90Sr was rapidly translocated from lung to bone where a substantial portion was retained for a long period of time. This resulted in only a brief radiation exposure of the respiratory tract and a protracted exposure of the skeleton. The long-term retained burdens ranged from 0.037 to 4.4 MBq 90Sr/kg body wt. Dogs were subsequently observed throughout their life span. Six dogs with long-term retained burdens of 1.7 to 4.1 MBq 90Sr/kg died at less than 32 days after exposure from radiation-induced bone marrow hypoplasia. Review of hematological parameters of all dogs showed a similar, consistent, and dose-related pancytopenia in those animals having a long-term retained burden of greater than 0.37 MBq 90Sr/kg. Thrombocytopenia and neutropenia persisted in all exposed dogs through 1000 days after exposure. For reference purposes, a burden of 0.37 MBq 90Sr/kg is calculated to deliver an average radiation dose to the skeleton over 30, 100, and 1000 days after intake of 1.0, 2.8, and 17 Gy, respectively. The hematologic changes were similar to those seen in people exposed to high doses of whole-body external radiation.

Administration, Inhalation↗