The renal histopathologic findings in this study are consistent with those reported in previous acute studies in rats after PIFE administration. Functional changes in the kidney, as evidenced by serum chemistry and urinalyses, were observed at exposure concentrations that induced morphologic alterations.

HFO-1234ze is being developed as a refrigerant, propellant, and foam-blowing agent because it has a very low global warming potential (less than 10), as contrasted to the hydrofluorocarbons with values of over 500. Several toxicology studies were conducted to develop a toxicology profile for this material. There was no lethality in mice and rats receiving single 4-hour exposures up to 103,300 or 207,000 ppm, respectively. Exposures up to 120,000 ppm did not induce cardiac sensitization to adrenalin. Rats were exposed to HFO-1234ze at levels of 5,000, 20,000, and 50,000 ppm 6 hours/day 5 days/week for 2 weeks. Predominate findings of increased liver and kidney weights and histopathological changes in the liver and heart suggested that these organs were the targets for HFO-1234ze toxicity. In a 4-week study at 1000, 5000, 10,000, and 15,000 ppm, the only organ showing treatment-related effects was the heart. In a 90-day study with exposures of 1500, 5000, and 15,000 ppm 6 hours/day 5 days/week, again, the heart was the only target organ. The findings consisted of focal and multifocal mononuclear cell infiltrates in the heart. There was no evidence of fibrosis, and, when compared to the 2- and 4-week studies, there did not appear to be an increase in severity with length of exposure. HFO-1234ze was inactive in a mouse and rat micronucleus assay, an Ames assay, and an unscheduled DNA synthesis assay and was not clastogenic in human lymphocytes. It was also not a developmental toxin in either the rat or rabbit, even at exposure levels up to15,000 ppm.

To characterize the toxicological hazards of petroleum gases, 90-day inhalation toxicity (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] 413) and developmental toxicity (OECD 414) tests were conducted with liquefied propane gas (LPG) at concentrations of 1000, 5000, or 10 000 ppm. A micronucleus test (OECD 474) of LPG was also conducted. No systemic or developmental effects were observed; the overall no observed adverse effect concentration (NOAEC) was 10 000 ppm. Further, there was no effect of LPG exposure at levels up to 10 000 ppm on micronucleus induction and no evidence of bone marrow toxicity. Other alkane gases (ethane, propane, n-butane, and isobutane) were then evaluated in combined repeated exposure studies with reproduction/development toxicity screening tests (OECD 422). There were no toxicologically important changes in parameters relating to systemic toxicity or neurotoxicity for any of these gases at concentrations ranging from 9000 to 16 000 ppm. There was no evidence of effects on developmental or reproductive toxicity in the studies of ethane, propane, or n-butane at the highest concentrations tested. However, there was a reduction in mating in the high-exposure group (9000 ppm) of the isobutane study, which although not significantly different was outside the range previously observed in the testing laboratory. Assuming the reduction in mating to have been toxicologically significant, the NOAEC for the isobutane reproductive toxicity screening test was 3000 ppm (7125 mg/m 3 ). A method is proposed by which the toxicity of any of the 106 complex petroleum gas streams can be estimated from its composition.

Nephrotoxicity of inhaled compound A in rats was associated with renal uptake of compound A S-conjugates and cysteine conjugates metabolism by renal beta-lyase. Manipulation of the beta-lyase pathway elicited similar results, whether compound A was administered by inhalation or intraperitoneal injection. Route of administration does not apparently influence nephrotoxicity of compound A in rats.

Formation of DNA adducts is a key event during carcinogenesis. DNA adducts, if not repaired properly, can lead to mutations and cancer. DNA adducts have been frequently used as biomarkers to evaluate chemical exposure. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is widely used in the manufacture of various industrial polymers. Previous studies have documented that VAM induced nasal tumors in rodents exposed to high exposure levels of VAM. VAM is metabolized by carboxylesterase to acetaldehyde (AA), which subsequently results in DNA adducts. However, AA is also an endogenous metabolite in living cells, which impedes accurate assessment of the contribution of VAM exposure under the substantial endogenous background. To address this challenge, we exposed rats to stable isotope labeled [ 13 C 2 ]-VAM at 50, 200, and 400 ppm through inhalation for 6 h, followed by DNA adduct analysis in nasal respiratory and olfactory epithelia with highly sensitive mass spectrometry. Our results show that exogenous N 2 -ethyl-dG adducts were present in all rats exposed to [ 13 C 2 ]-VAM, with over 2-fold higher DNA adducts in nasal respiratory epithelium than olfactory epithelium. Our data also show that N 2 -ethyl-dG is a more sensitive biomarker to assess VAM exposure than 1,N 2 -propano-dG adducts. Moreover, a very low amount of exogenous N 2 -ethyl-dG adducts were detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples of exposed rats, suggesting that only an extremely small percentage of [ 13 C 2 ]-VAM or its metabolite may enter into systemic circulation to potentially damage tissues beyond nasal epithelium. Furthermore, exogenous N 2 -ethyl-dG DNA adducts undergo rapid repair or spontaneous loss in nasal epithelium of exposed rats. Taken together, the results presented herein provide novel quantitative data and lay the foundation for future studies to improve risk assessment of VAM.