Biological and environmental hazards associated with exposure to chemical warfare agents: arsenicals

Abstract

Arsenicals are highly reactive inorganic and organic derivatives of arsenic. These chemicals are very toxic and produce both acute and chronic tissue damage. Based on these observations, and considering the low cost and simple methods of their bulk syntheses, these agents were thought to be appropriate for chemical warfare. Among these, the most known agent synthesized and weaponized during World War I (WWI) is Lewisite. Exposure to Lewisite causes painful inflammatory and blistering responses in the skin, lung, and eye. These chemicals also manifest systemic tissue injury following their cutaneous exposure. Although largely discontinued after WWI, their stockpiles are still known to exist in the former Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Asia. Thus, their access by terrorists or accidental exposure could be highly dangerous for humans and the environment. This review summarizes studies which describe the biological, pathophysiological, toxicological, and environmental effects of exposure to arsenicals, with a major focus on cutaneous injury. Studies related to the development of novel molecular pathobiology–based antidotes against these agents are also described.

Protective role of HO‐1 against acute kidney injury caused by cutaneous exposure to arsenicals

“…8 Lewisite can cause lung, liver, kidney, and neuronal damage. 16,17,59 A clear understanding of these effects is currently incomplete because of a lack of suitable experimental animal models. Earlier, we showed that in the highly responsive hairless murine model Ptch1 +/− /SKH-1, systemic injury, such as renal 16 and pulmonary 17 damage, is significantly increased following exposure to lewisite and other arsenicals.…”

Arsenic intoxication: general aspects and chelating agents

“…These very last warfare agents affect the body by being absorbed into the blood with the routes of inhalation or ingestion. All these As-based agents possess the characteristics of high toxicity, rapidity of action after environmental distribution, and long persistence (Li et al 2016).…”

Chemical warfare agent research in precision‐cut tissue slices—a useful alternative approach

“…Arsenicals appear in different states of aggregation and dose-dependently induce acute or chronic cutaneous, ocular, and systemic effects. 75 In a 2010 study, Rubatto et al 76 used rat kidney slices to map arsenic uptake by renal cortex cells, as well as to characterize the impairment of renal function by arsenic accumulation. With regard to other chemicals, recent studies by Carranza-Torres et al 77,78 employed PCTSs to investigate the effects of mercuric chloride (HgCl 2 ).…”