Administration of alpha-naphthylthiourea (ANTU) to rats causes damage to pulmonary endothelial cells and possibly mesothelial lining cells that together may account for the massive pleural effusion characteristic of thiourea toxicity. Using 35S-thiourea as a model compound, the extent of binding of 35S to lung proteins correlated well with the extent of edema, suggesting that the extent of bind...

Associations between isocyanate exposure and respiratory health effects have received little attention despite the extensive use of isocyanate compounds. Spray painters comprise a large population at risk, with potentially high isocyanate exposure because most lacquers contain hexamethylene diisocyanate. Repeated pulmonary function testing is not sufficient to diagnose and evaluate pulmonary to...

Gemcitabine is a nucleoside analog that has been increasingly used in the chemotherapy of solide tumors, including breast, pancreas ovary and non small cell lung cancer. It is generally well tolerated and has few side effects. Gemcitabine induced pulmonary complications range from mild dyspnea to death from ARDS. A 57yearold man was treated with six cycles of gemcitabine because of pancreatic c...

Because of their unique physicochemical properties, engineered nanoparticles have the potential to significantly impact respiratory research and medicine by means of improving imaging capability and drug delivery, among other applications. These same properties, however, present potential safety concerns, and there is accumulating evidence to suggest that nanoparticles may exert adverse effects...

1. The general term 'nanoparticle' (NP) is used to define any particle less than 100 nm in at least one dimension and NPs are generally classified as natural, anthropogenic or engineered in origin. Anthropogenic, also referred to as 'ultrafine' particles (UFPs), are predominately combustion derived and are characterized by having an equivalent spherical diameter less than 100 nm. 2. These parti...

Ultrastructural manifestations of bleomycin A2 toxicity in the human lung were studied in three patients. In addition to the appearance of nucleolar fibrillar centers, an increase in membranous, beaded, and granular nuclear bodies was found in nuclei of type 1, type 2 alveolar epithelial cells, and interstitial fibroblasts in all treated patients. Few such nuclear bodies were found in specimens...

Breathing hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂), particularly at pressures above 3 atmospheres absolute, can cause acute pulmonary injury that is more severe if signs of central nervous system toxicity occur. This is consistent with the activation of an autonomic link between the brain and the lung, leading to acute pulmonary oxygen toxicity. This pulmonary damage is characterized by leakage of fluid, prote...

To determine whether or not a "bolus injection" of soybean-based fat emulsion (SFE), which contains oleic acid (OA), a potent lung-toxic unsaturated C-18 fatty acid, can induce pulmonary dysfunction, we examined the effect of SFE injection on the partial oxygen pressure of arterial blood (Pao2) and pulmonary vascular permeability. In addition, we compared the effect of an injection of SFE with ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that paraquat pulmonary toxicity results from cyclic reduction-oxidation of paraquat with sequential generation of superoxide radicals and singlet oxygen and initiation of lipid peroxidation. In vitro mouse lung microsomes catalyzed an NADPH-dependent, single-electron reduction of paraquat. Incubation of paraquat with NADPH, NADPH-cyto...

Bleomycin treatment produced dose-dependent changes in lung collagen content and in several measurable histopathological parameters. NIH/Swiss mice were treated twice weekly for 6 weeks with bleomycin, 0, 1, 20, or 40 mg/kg s.c. The two highest doses produced mortalities of 35 and 100%, respectively, as well as loss of body weight and increase in lung wet weight. Lung hydroxyproline content, an...