title: Lung injury via oxidative stress in mice induced by inhalation exposure to rocket kerosene.
abstract: Rocket kerosene (RK) is a new rocket propellant. Toxicity occurs if a high level of RK is inhaled. To study the toxicity of RK in lung and the mechanisms of RK-induced lung jury, a total of 72 male ICR mice (1.5 months, adult) were randomly assigned to the RK exposure group (RKEG) and normal control group (NCG). Mice were whole-body exposed to room air or aerosol of 18000 mg/m3 RK for 4 hours. Histopathological analysis was performed to evaluate the pulmonary lesions. Oxidative stress was assessed by assay of MDA, SOD, GSH-PX and TAOC. Inflammatory response was estimated by detecting inflammatory cell counts, TNF-α and IL-6 protein levels in serum. The results showed that after 2 to 6 hours of RK exposure, pulmonary vascular dilatation, congestion and edematous widening of the alveolar septum were noted. After 12 to 24 hours post-exposure, diffuse hemorrhage in alveolar space were found, along with the progressive pulmonary vascular dilatation and edematous widening of alveolar septum. During 3 to 7 days of RK-exposure, inflammatory cells were scattered in the lung tissue. The pathological alterations of the lung were alleviated after 14 days post-exposure, and showed significant improvement after 21 days post-exposure. After 30 days of RK exposure, the pathological changes in the lung tissue were nearly recovered except the local thickening of the alveolar wall. Compared with NCG, RK inhalation produced a significant increase of MDA levels and a significant decrease of SOD, GSH-Px and TAOC activity in the lung after 2 hours post-exposure (P<0.05). There were significant increases of TNF-α and IL-6 protein levels in serum of mice in RKEG after 2, 6 and 12 hours and 1, 4 and 7 days post-exposure compared with NCG (P<0.05). TNF-α protein levels had a sharp increase after 4 days of exposure. IL-6 protein level was increased at early phase of experiment and then gradually decreased along with the prolonged course of exposure. Considering that the RK-induced lung injury was through the oxidative stress, inhibition of oxidative stress after RK exposure may be urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: Special Medicine and Experimental Research Center, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Bingxin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Chenglin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Epidemic Prevention Team, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jihua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Special Medicine and Experimental Research Center, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Shaoyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Special Medicine and Experimental Research Center, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Zhiguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Special Medicine and Experimental Research Center, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, 306 Hospital of PLA Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000818:Animals; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007648:Kerosene / Q000633:toxicity*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D007648:Kerosene; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: Rocket kerosene; inhalation; lung injury; oxidative stress