Dana R. Anderson

A Comparison of in Vivo and in Vitro Rates of Aging of Somaninhibited Erythrocyte Acetylcholinesterase in Different Animal Species

ABSTRACTThis study was conducted to assess differences in the rate of aging of soman-inhibited erythrocyte (RBC) acetylcholinesterase (Am) fm different species and to determine whether the rate of aging in vitro approximates that in vivo following a single exposure to soman. The logarithm of the percentage FU3C AChE reactivated by 2–PAM after soman exposure was plotted as a function of time. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the half-time (t1/2) for aglng. In the in vivo experiments, the rapidity of aging increased from rat to guinea pig to marmoset; the corresponding t1/2 values (mean ± standard error) were 8.6 (± 0.94) min, 7.5 (±1.7) min and 0.99 (± 0.10) min. The in vitro values of t1/2 in marmoset and guinea pig were 1.1 (± 0.08) min and 8.0 (± 0.82) rnin, respectively. Other t1/2 values computed for in vitro experiments were 1.4 (±0.11) rnin for cynomolgus monkeys and 0.88 (± 0.03) mln for squirrel monkeys. The results indicate that, for marmoset and guinea pig, the in vitro values cl...

Treatment of sulfur mustard (HD)-induced lung injury†

An in vivo sulfur mustard (HD) vapor exposure model followed by bronchoalveolar lavage was developed previously in this laboratory to study biochemical indicators of HD‐induced lung injury. This model was used to test two treatment compounds—niacinamide (NIA) and N‐acetyl cysteine (NAC)—for their ability to ameliorate HD‐induced biochemical changes. Anesthetized rats were intratracheally intubated and exposed to 0.35 mg of HD in 0.1 ml of ethanol or ethanol alone for 50 min. At the beginning of the exposure (t = 0), the rats were treated with either NIA (750 mg kg−1) or NAC (816 mg kg−1), i.p. At 24 h post‐exposure, rats were euthanized and the lungs were lavaged with saline (three 5‐ml washes). One milliliter of the recovered lavage fluid was analyzed for cellular components. The remaining fluid was centrifuged (10 min at 300 g) and the supernatant was assayed on a Cobas FARA clinical analyzer for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), γ‐glutamyltransferase (GGT), albumin (ALB), total protein (TP) and glutathione peroxidase (GP). The HD alone and HD+NIA treatment caused significant increases in all of the biochemical parameters compared with control levels. The NAC treatment yielded LDH, ALB and TP values that, although elevated, were not significantly different from the control. The GP levels were significantly higher than the control but significantly lower than the HD alone levels, indicating some protection compared with the HD alone group. The GGT levels were unaffected by NAC compared with HD alone. Cytological analysis of lavage fluid showed that the percentages of neutrophils were 5.3 ± 1.0 (mean ± SEM) for control, 46.6 ± 4.5 for HD, 31.4 ± 4.7 for HD + NIA and 21.6 ± 4.7 for HD + NAC, respectively. The neutrophil counts were significantly higher for the three HD‐exposed groups vs controls; however, the NAC‐treated group had neutrophil counts lower than HD alone, indicating decreased inflammatory response. These results show that NAC may be useful as a potential treatment compound for HD‐induced lung injury. Published in 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sulfur Mustard-Induced Apoptosis in Hairless Guinea Pig Skin

The present study was aimed to examine whether apoptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of sulfur mustard (SM)-induced basal cell death. Skin sites of the hairless guinea pig exposed to SM vapor for 8 minutes were harvested at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours postexposure. Immunohistochemical detection of basal cell apoptosis was performed using the ApopTag in situ apoptosis labeling kit. Only occasional apoptotic basal cells (BC) were observed in nonexposed and perilesional control sites. At lesional sites, apoptosis of BC was not detected at 3 hours postexposure. However, at 6 hours and 12 hours postexposure, 18% and 59% of BC were apoptotic, respectively. At 24 and 48 hours postexposure, individual apoptotic basal cells were not clearly recognizable due to necrosis. At the ultrastructural level, degenerating BC exhibited typical apoptotic morphology including nuclear condensation and chromatin margination. The results suggest that apoptotic cell death is a cytotoxic mechanism with the number of BC undergoing apoptosis significantly increasing from 6 to 12 hours postexposure. In addition, because necrosis is preferential at 24 hours postexposure, we believe that SM-induced cell death involves early apoptosis and late necrosis, which temporally overlap to produce a single cell death pathway along an apoptotic-necrotic continuum.

Toxicity of Anticholinesterases: Interactions of Pyridostigmine and Physostigmine with Soman

This investigation was conducted to assess the potential of carbamate pretreatment to exacerbate the ill effects of low doses of soman. Ambulatory Activity in a photocell cage (AA) and performance time on an accelerating rotarod (ARR) were used to test for interactions between pyridostigmine or physostigmine and soman. ED50s (i.e., dosages sufficient to reduce ARR time and AA to 50% of control level) of each carbamate (IM) and soman (SC) were determined. The ED50 values (mg/kg) in the ARR test were 3.2, 0.21, and 0.072 for pyridostigmine, physostigmine and soman, respectively, while in the AA test the corresponding values were 1.8, 0.072 and 0.060. The matrix of 16 combinations of 0, 1, 2/3, and 1/3 ED50 each of carbamate and soman was studied in each test system, as well as the effect of behavioral deficit free (BDF) dosages of each carbamate on the ED50s of soman. In both the AA and ARR tests the matrix of combinations of pyridostigmine and soman indicated an additive effect. In contrast, physostigmine produced one instance of potentiation in each test system and anatagonism in two combinations in the AA procedure. A BDF dosage of each carbamate (0.056 mg/kg of pyridostigmine and 0.026 mg/kg of physostigmine) gave no evidence of adding to the deficit in AA induced by soman. In the ARR test, the ED50 of soman was lower by 11% with pyridostigmine pretreatment and by 14% with physostigmine; the latter just reached statistical significance (p less than 0.05). Although additivity was most often found at higher dosages of pyridostigmine and physostigmine, at the BDF dosages little or no adverse interaction was found between Pyridostigmine or Physostigmine and low levels of soman.

Pathologic Changes in Rat Lungs Following Acute Sulfur Mustard Inhalation

AbstractAlthough the majority of deaths resulting from exposure to sulfur mustard (HD) have been due to pulmonary dysfunction, there are no detailed accounts of the pathogenesis of HD-induced lesions in the respiratory tract. Accordingly, we investigated the early changes within the trachea and lungs of rats following inhalation exposure to HD. Anesthetized rats were exposed by intratracheal intubation to vaporized HD (0.35 mg in 100 m l absolute ethanol) or ethanol alone for 50 min. Animals were euthanatized at 0, 1, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h postexposure (PE), and their respiratory tracts were prepared for histological and ultrastructural examination. In rats exposed to HD, multifocal, petechial hemorrhages were grossly evident on the pleural surface of the lung at 6 h PE. Atelectasis and edema of the accessory lobe occurred at 12-18 h PE. Histologically, lesions in the respiratory tract were confined primarily to the trachea, bronchi and larger bronchioles. In HD-exposed rats, there was a progressive depl...

Protective role of PI3-kinase/Akt/eNOS signaling in mechanical stress through inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in mouse lung

AbstractAim:To test the hypothesis that PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling has a protective role in a murine model of ventilation associated lung injury (VALI) through down-regulation of p38 MAPK signaling.Methods:Male C57BL/J6 (wild-type, WT) or eNOS knockout mice (eNOS−/−) were exposed to mechanical ventilation (MV) with low (LVT, 7 mL/kg) and high tidal volume (HVT, 20 mL/kg) for 0−4 h. A subset of WT mice was administered the specific inhibitors of PI3K (100 nmol/L Wortmannin [Wort], ip) or of p38 MAPK (SB203580, 2 mg/kg, ip) 1 h before MV. Cultured type II alveolar epithelial cells C10 were exposed to 18% cyclic stretch for 2 h with or without 20 nmol/L Wort pretreatment. At the end of the experiment, the capillary leakage in vivo was assessed by extravasation of Evans blue dye (EBD), wet/dry weight ratio and lung lavage protein concentration. The lung tissue and cell lysate were also collected for protein and histological review.Results:MV decreased PI3K/Akt phosphorylation and eNOS expression but increased phospho-p38 MAPK expression along with a lung leakage of EBD. Inhibitions of phospho-Akt by Wort worsen the lung edema, whereas inhibition of p38 MAPK kinase restored activation of Akt together with alleviated capillary leakage. eNOS−/− mice showed an exacerbated lung edema and injury. The stretched C10 cells demonstrated that Wort diminished the activation of Akt, but potentiated phosphorylation of MAPK p38.Conclusion:Our results indicate that PI-3K/Akt/eNOS pathway has significant protective effects in VALI by preventing capillary leakage, and that there is a cross-talk between PI3K/Akt and p38 MAPK pathways in vascular barrier dysfunction resulting from VALI.

Antagonism of soman-induced convulsions by midazolam, diazepam and scopolamine

The effects of midazolam (MDZ), diazepam (DZ) and scopolamine (SCP) therapies on soman-induced electrocorticogram (ECoG) and biceps femoris electromyogram (EMG) activities and brain lesions were assessed in male rats. Animals received pyridostigmine (26 micrograms/kg, im) 30 min before soman (87.1 micrograms/kg, im) followed by therapy consisting of atropine (1.5 mg/kg) admixed with 2-PAM (25 mg/kg, im) 1 min later; MDZ (0.5 mg/kg), DZ (1.77 mg/kg) or SCP (0.43 mg/kg) was administered im at 1 min after the onset of convulsions (CVs). Typically, within 5 min after soman the ECoG profile changed to a full-blown, spike-and-dome epileptiform (SDE) pattern followed by CVs and increased amplitude of EMG activity. Treatment with SCP restored ECoG and EMG profiles by 30 min. At 2 hr after exposure only 1 animal demonstrated a slight abnormality in ECoG activity which was normal at 24 hr. Similarly, DZ and MDZ restored EcoG and EMG profiles by 30 min; however, in contrast to SCP, 83% of the animals demonstrated reappearance of SDE 2 hrs after soman. SCP therapy also enabled rats to move about in their cages by 30 min post treatment. In contrast, DZ- and MDZ-treated rats remained incapacitated as late as 2 hr post-exposure. Animals were euthanized at 24 hr, and the extent of soman-induced brain lesions was determined by light microscopic analysis. When present, brain lesions were minimal in SCP-treated rats. The mean brain lesion scores across all experimental conditions ranked as follows: soman control > MDZ > DZ > or = SCP = saline control. These observations suggest that SCP may be highly effective in severe soman intoxication.

The relationship between oxime-induced reactivation of carbamylated acetylcholinesterase and antidotal efficacy against carbamate intoxication☆

The efficacy of the oximes pyridinium-2-aldoxime methochloride (2-PAM) and 1-[[[(4-aminocarbonyl)pyridinio]methoxy]methyl]-2-[(hydro xyimino) methyl]pyridinium dichloride (HI-6), in combination with atropine (At), against lethality by either carbaryl (CA) or physostigmine (Phy) was investigated in rats. The protection by At, 8 mg/kg, iv, against CA intoxication was reduced by 2-PAM (22 mg/kg, iv) and HI-6 (50 mg/kg, iv) from a protective ratio (PR) of 6.6 to 3.5 and 2.3, respectively. However, in Phy-intoxicated rats, the administration, iv, of At alone, At + 2-PAM, or At + HI-6 at 1 min following Phy provided good protection and resulted in PRs of 7.2, 8.8, and 23.3, respectively. In experiments on decarbamylation of inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE), HI-6 and 2-PAM accelerated (p less than 0.05) the decarbamylation of Phy-inhibited AChE in vitro, and HI-6 decreased (p less than 0.05) the inhibition of whole blood AChE in Phy-intoxicated rats. These findings show that the protection was increased substantially by the use of either 2-PAM or HI-6 against Phy-induced lethality, whereas the use of oximes against carbaryl poisoning was contraindicated. Furthermore, even though CA and Phy are both N-methyl carbamates, the data indicate that there is no adverse interaction between 2-PAM or HI-6 and Phy.

Physostigmine (Alone and Together with Adjunct) Pretreatment Against Soman, Sarin, Tabun and VX Intoxication

A pretreatment for organophosphorus (OP) anticholinesterase (e.g., soman) intoxication should prevent lethality and convulsions (CNV) at 2 LD50s and be behavioral-decrement-free when given alone. Behavioral-deficit-free pretreatment regimens (PRGs) for guinea pigs consisted of Physostigmine (0.15 mg/kg, im) and adjunct. Adjuncts [mg/kg, im] tested were akineton [0.25], aprophen [8], trihexyphenidyl [2], atropine [16], azaprophen [5], benactyzine [1.25], cogentin [4], dextromethorphan [7.5], ethopropazine [12], kemadrin [1], memantine [5], promethazine [5], scopolamine [0.08] and vontrol [2]. PRGs were given 30 min before soman (60 micrograms/kg, sc; 2 LD50s) or other OP agents. Animals were then observed and graded for signs of intoxication, including CNV at 7 time points and at 24 hr. Physostigmine alone reduced the incidence of CNV and lethality induced by 2 LD50s of soman by 42 and 60%, respectively. All of the PRGs tested abolished lethality and 12 shortened recovery time to 2 hr or less. Also, PRGs including azaprophen or atropine prevented CNV. When selected PRGs were tested against intoxication by sarin, tabun or VX, the efficacy was generally superior to that for soman. The data show that several PRGs are effective against soman intoxication in guinea pigs.

The effect of pyridostigmine pretreatment on oxime efficacy against intoxication by soman or VX in rats

This study was done to assess the effects of pyridostigmine (PYR) on a) the accumulation of labelled VX and soman within the brain, b) the therapeutic efficacy of atropine and oxime (2-PAM or HI-6) against intoxication by VX and soman and c) oxime-induced reactivation of inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In all experiments, rats were given PYR (131 micrograms/kg, im; I70 dose for whole blood AChE) or vehicle 30 min prior to nerve agent. In estimating 3H-agent the accumulation in the brain or estimating blood AChE activity, sufficient soman (47 micrograms/kg, iv) or VX (21.3 micrograms/kg, iv) was given to inhibit 50% of brain AChE activity. In assessing therapeutic efficacy and oxime-induced reactivation of blood AChE, rats were pretreated with PYR, challenged with agent and treated with atropine (16 mg/kg, im) and HI-6 or 2-PAM (100 umoles/kg, im) 30 sec post agent. Whole blood was collected by tail bleeding to monitor peripheral AChE activity at various time points before and after PYR and challenge. Pyridostigmine failed to alter covalent binding of labelled VX or soman in the brain. The 24-hr survival data showed that PYR reduced the therapeutic benefit of atropine and oxime against VX intoxication (but not soman). Protective ratios in VX-challenged rats given vehicle or PYR and treated with atropine + 2-PAM decreased slightly from 2.5 to 2.1 (p > .05), whereas with atropine + HI-6 they decreased significantly from 3.8 to 2.4. Also, AChE reactivation by HI-6 in VX-challenged rats was greater (p < .05) in vehicle- than in PYR-pretreated rats. HI-6 significantly reactivated AChE activity in both pretreatment groups (PYR or vehicle) given soman. The data suggest that PYR decreases the overall recovery of inhibited AChE in VX-challenged rats given HI-6; under the conditions used, this adverse effect decreases atropine+oxime efficacy against VX-induced lethality.