Organophosphorus Inhibition and Characterization of Recombinant Guinea Pig Acetylcholinesterase.

Organophosphorus (OP) pesticides and nerve agents have been designed to inhibit the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by covalently binding to the active site serine of acetylcholinesterase while Alzheimer drugs and prophylactics, such as tacrine, are characterized by reversible binding. Historically, the guinea pig has been believed to be the best non-primate model for OP toxicology and medical countermeasure development because, similarly to humans, guinea pigs have low amounts of circulating OP metabolizing carboxylesterase. To explore the hypothesis that guinea pigs are the appropriate responder species for OP toxicology and medical countermeasure development, guinea pig acetylcholinesterase (gpAChE) was cloned into pENTR/D-TOPO, recombined into pT-Rex-DEST30 and expressed in Human Embryonic Kidney 293 cells.

Predicting passive and active tissue:plasma partition coefficients: interindividual and interspecies variability.

A mechanistic tissue composition model incorporating passive and active transport for the prediction of steady-state tissue:plasma partition coefficients (K(t:pl)) of chemicals in multiple mammalian species was used to assess interindividual and interspecies variability. This approach predicts K(t:pl) using chemical lipophilicity, pKa, phospholipid membrane binding, and the unbound plasma fraction, together with tissue fractions of water, neutral lipids, neutral and acidic phospholipids, proteins, and pH. Active transport K(t:pl) is predicted using Michaelis-Menten transport parameters.

Age-dependent partition coefficients for a mixture of volatile organic solvents in Sprague-Dawley rats and humans.

The absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are critically determined by a few chemical-specific factors, notably their blood and tissue partition coefficients (PC) and metabolism. Age-specific values for PCs in rats have rarely been reported or utilized in pharmacokinetic modeling for predicting dosimetry in toxicity studies with rats progressing through their lifestages. A mixture of six VOCs (benzene, chloroform, methyl ethyl ketone, methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and perchloroethylene) was used to determine blood:air and tissue:air PCs in rats at three different ages (postnatal d 10, 60 d, and 2 yr) and blood:air PCs in pediatric and adult human blood.

Predicting age-appropriate pharmacokinetics of six volatile organic compounds in the rat utilizing physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling.

The capability of physiologically based pharmacokinetic models to incorporate age-appropriate physiological and chemical-specific parameters was utilized to predict changes in internal dosimetry for six volatile organic compounds (VOCs) across different ages of rats. Typical 6-h animal inhalation exposures to 50 and 500 ppm perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, benzene, chloroform, methylene chloride, or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) were simulated for postnatal day 10 (PND10), 2-month-old (adult), and 2-year-old (aged) rats. With the exception of MEK, predicted venous blood concentrations of VOCs in the aged rat were equal or up to 1.

Predicting neonatal perchlorate dose and inhibition of iodide uptake in the rat during lactation using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling.

Perchlorate (ClO4-), a contaminant in drinking water, competitively inhibits active uptake of iodide (I-) into various tissues, including mammary tissue. During postnatal development, inhibition of I- uptake in the mammary gland and neonatal thyroid and the active concentration ClO4- in milk indicate a potentially increased susceptibility of neonates to endocrine disruption. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed to reproduce measured ClO4- distribution in the lactating and neonatal rat and predict resulting effects on I- kinetics from competitive inhibition at the sodium iodide symporter (NIS).

Changes in cross-fostered Sprague-Dawley rat litters exposed to perchlorate.

Ammonium perchlorate is used as an oxidizer in rocket fuel. It has become a groundwater contaminant, dissociating to ammonium cation and perchlorate anion. The perchlorate ion competes with iodide for uptake into the thyroid, reducing thyroid hormone production.

Predicting fetal perchlorate dose and inhibition of iodide kinetics during gestation: a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic analysis of perchlorate and iodide kinetics in the rat.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) disrupts endocrine homeostasis by competitively inhibiting the transport of iodide (I-) into the thyroid. The potential for health effects from human exposure to ClO4- in drinking water is not known, but experimental animal studies are suggestive of developmental effects from ClO4- induced iodide deficiency during gestation. Normal hormone-dependent development relies, in part, on synthesis of hormones in the fetal thyroid from maternally supplied iodide.

The pharmacokinetics of perchlorate and its effect on the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in the male rat.

Perchlorate, an environmental contaminant, is known to disturb the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis by blocking iodide accumulation in the thyroid. Iodide deficiency can lead to hypothyroidism and goiter in rats. The objective of the study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics of perchlorate in male Sprague-Dawley rats relative to inhibition of thyroidal radiolabeled iodide uptake and onset of up-regulation of the HPT axis.

In vivo kinetics of trichloroacetate in male Fischer 344 rats.

Trichloroacetate (TCA) is a toxicologically important metabolite of the industrial solvents trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, and a by-product of the chlorination of drinking water. Tissue disposition and elimination of 14C-TCA were investigated in male Fischer 344 rats injected iv with 6.1, 61, or 306 micromol TCA/kg body weight.

A human physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for trichloroethylene and its metabolites, trichloroacetic acid and free trichloroethanol.

Nine male and eight female healthy volunteers were exposed to 50 or 100 ppm trichloroethylene vapors for 4 h. Blood, urine, and exhaled breath samples were collected for development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for trichloroethylene and its two major P450-mediated metabolites, trichloroacetic acid and free trichloroethanol. Blood and urine were analyzed for trichloroethylene, chloral hydrate, free trichloroethanol and trichloroethanol glucuronide, and trichloroacetic acid.

Lactational transfer of volatile chemicals in breast milk.

Lactational transfer of chemicals to nursing infants is a concern for occupational physicians when women who are breast-feeding return to the workplace. Some work environments, such as paint shops, have atmospheric contamination from volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Very little is known about the extent of exposure a nursing infant may receive from the mother's occupational exposure.

A species comparison of chloral hydrate metabolism in blood and liver.

Chloral hydrate (CH), [302-17-0], is a human sedative useful in premature infants. No current epidemiological study supports increased cancer risk. CH is also a rodent toxicant and a P450-derived metabolite of trichloroethylene (TRI).

Dichloroacetic acid: metabolism in cytosol.

Dichloroacetic acid (DCA) arises from the chlorination of drinking water and the metabolism of trichloroethylene (TRI) and is used therapeutically. The toxicity of TRI exposure is dependent on metabolism, and DCA has been proposed to be one contributor to this toxicity. Beyond the identification of some metabolites of DCA and some pharmacokinetic studies, little is known about the tissue distribution and enzymology of DCA metabolism.

Gas uptake studies of deuterium isotope effects on dichloromethane metabolism in female B6C3F1 mice in vivo.

In common with a diverse group of low-molecular-weight volatile substrates, dichloromethane (DCM; methylene chloride) is a high-affinity, low-capacity substrate for oxidation by several cytochrome P450 isoenzymes in vivo. DCM oxidation, catalyzed primarily by the 2E1 and 2B1 cytochrome P450 isoforms, yields carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide. We have studied the characteristics of DCM oxidation in vivo by examining the metabolism of DCM and of both deuterated forms ([2H2]-DCM and [2H]DCM) in female B6C3F1 mice with gas uptake methods.

A partition coefficient determination method for nonvolatile chemicals in biological tissues.

Partition or distribution coefficients are critical elements in efforts designed to describe the uptake, distribution, biotransformation, and excretion of organic chemicals in biological systems. In order to estimate the partition coefficients needed to describe the biological distribution of low-volatility compounds, an experimental method was developed to measure partitioning of nonvolatile compounds into biological tissues. Blood, fat, muscle, liver, and skin were individually incubated in a saline solution containing the chemical of interest.

Variability of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model parameters and their effects on PBPK model predictions in a risk assessment for perchloroethylene (PCE).

When used in the risk assessment process, the output from physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models has usually been considered as an exact estimate of dose, ignoring uncertainties in the parameter values used in the model and their impact on model predictions. We have collected experimental data on the variability of key parameters in a PBPK model for tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and have used Monte Carlo analysis to estimate the resulting variability in the model predictions. Blood/air and tissue/blood partition coefficients and the interanimal variability of these data were determined for tetrachloroethylene (PCE).

Structural determination of the carboxylic acid metabolites of polychlorotrifluoroethylene.

1. Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) is a perhalogenated hydrocarbon which consists mainly of C-6 and C-8 oligomers of chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) end-capped with chlorine and referred to as trimer and tetramer, respectively. PCTFE is a hydraulic fluid considered for use in advanced weapon systems.

Confirmation of a carboxylic acid metabolite of polychlorotrifluoroethylene and a method for its GC-ECD analysis in biological matrices.

3.1 Oil, referred to as polychlorotrifluoroethylene (pCTFE), is a polymeric mixture consisting primarily of trimers and tetramers of chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) end-capped with chlorine. Inhalation studies have associated dose-related body weight loss, increased organ weights, and abnormal hepatic enzyme activities with exposure to pCTFE.

Effects of vacuum and pulsation ratio on udder health.

Effects of vacuum and pulsation ratio on udder health were studied for 36 first parity animals in a 60-day trial. Treatments consisted of vacuum at 33.3, 41.