Biochemical effects in rats from irritating air contaminants

Acrolein health effects

“…Rat lungs exhibited significantly reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid, and α-tocopherol levels as well as glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activity levels following 4-h exposures to 1 or 2 ppm acrolein (Arumugam, et al, 1999). Exposure to concentrations of 1.7-6 ppm induced epithelial hyperplasia, inflammation, and moderateto-severe histological alterations of the nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelium of mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and dogs (Buckley, et al, 1984;Feron, et al, 1978;Kilburn and Mackenzie, 1978;Murphy, et al, 1964). Severe respiratory tract irritation was observed in rats exposed to 12 ppm for 4 h (Murphy, et al, 1964).…”

“…Observed effects include nasal irritation, discomfort, and reduction in respiratory rate in humans (Weber-Tschopp, et al, 1977), reduction in respiratory rate in mice (Buckley, et al, 1984;Kane and Alarie, 1977) and rats (Cassee, et al, 1996), histological changes in nasal epithelium of rats and mice (Cassee, et al, 1996;Nielsen, et al, 1984;Steinhagen and Barrow, 1984), and reduction in bactericidal activity (as reflected by macrophagic clearance of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria) in mice (Aranyi, et al, 1986). More severe observed effects include high fever, dyspnea, coughing, foamy expectoration, cyanosis, tracheal and alveolar epithelial destructions, pulmonary edema, lung hemorrhage, and possible death in humans, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and dogs (Buckley, et al, 1984;Catilina, et al, 1966;Champeix, et al, 1966;Dahlgren, et al, 1972;Hales, et al, 1988;Kilburn and Mckenzie, 1978;Murphy, et al, 1964;Skog, 1950).…”

Aldehydes

“…Rats exposed to 0.25-0.67 ppm Acr for 6 h on three consecutive days experienced dose-dependent epithelial cell necrosis, epithelial disarrangement, and cell proliferation of nasal respiratory epithelium (Cassee et al 1996). Histological alterations of nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelium were observed in several rodent species and dogs exposed to 1.7-6 ppm (Buckley et al 1984;Feron et al 1978;Kilburn and Mckenzie 1978;Murphy et al 1964). Exposures of >100 ppm for times as brief as 5 min led to bronchial epithelial cell destruction, pulmonary edema, and lung hemorrhage in rats, guinea pigs, and dogs (Catilina et al 1966;Dahlgren et al 1972;Hales et al 1988;Skog 1950).…”

Incapacitation in the Laboratory Rat Induced by Inhalation of Carbon Monoxide-Acrolein Mixtures

“…While dose-response relationships for single gas exposures have been defined for some of the major toxic components of smoke [1][2][3][4][5][6] and for a few of the irritant gases [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], less information exists pertaining to the combined effects of these gases on the intact mammalian organism [15,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. With present technology, it is not feasible to reconstruct, or even to define, all of the complex mixtures of combustion products that occur in aircraft fires.…”