acid-phosphatase and beryllium-sulfate

The chronic pulmonary toxicity of beryllium sulfate was examined in rats over a 1-yr period after a single, 1-h exposure. Male rats, exposed in a nose-only inhalation chamber to an aerosol of 4.05 micrograms Be/L, were evaluated for lung toxicity by the methods of bronchoalveolar lavage, lung cell kinetics, and histopathologic analysis. Bronchoalveolar lavage activities for alkaline phosphatase (Alk Pase) and acid phosphatase (Ac Pase) were elevated 3 wk after exposure; lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Alk Pase activities peaked 3 months after exposure. Histopathologic analysis revealed progressive focal interstitial pneumonitis with a prominent alveolar component of heteromorphic macrophages, neutrophils, and debris. No increase was noted in the overall labeling index in the alveolar cell population at any of the time points sampled. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis in monitoring lung damage over a prolonged period and shows that the pulmonary toxicity of beryllium manifests itself as a progressive lesion from a single 1-h inhalation exposure to BeSO4.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Aerosols; Alkaline Phosphatase; Animals; Berylliosis; Beryllium; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Lung; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Time Factors

The effects of lung injury in rats and mice exposed to an aerosol of beryllium sulfate for 1 hr through nose-only inhalation were evaluated by the method of bronchoalveolar lavage. The lavage fluid of rats exposed to an aerosol of either 3.3 or 7.0 micrograms Be/liter over a 21-day period following exposure indicated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (Alk Pase) activities to be the most sensitive indicators of lung damage. LDH activity peaked at 8 days postexposure while Alk Pase activity was maximum at Day 5. Both values were 30 times greater than comparable controls at these time points. Acid phosphatase activity and albumin levels also increased over the 21-day period, but not to the same extent. The lung lavage of mice exposed to 7.2 micrograms Be/liter showed LDH activity as the most sensitive indicator of lung damage with a maximum response three times greater than that of controls at Day 5.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Albumins; Alkaline Phosphatase; Animals; Beryllium; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Lung; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Therapeutic Irrigation