Enhanced Pulmonary Inflammatory Response to Inhaled Endotoxin in Pregnant Rats

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brumbaugh K ; Frazer DG ; Goldsmith WT ; Huffman LJ ; Platania C ; Prugh DJ ; Reynolds JS
• Description:
  Evidence suggests that pregnant animals are more sensitive than nonpregnant animals to the systemic administration of endotoxin. Studies were undertaken to assess whether an enhanced sensitivity of the pulmonary system to aerosolized endotoxin might exist during pregnancy. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley female rats (17 d of gestation) or age-matched virgin female rats were exposed to air or endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) by inhalation for 3 h. At 18 h following exposure to endotoxin, lactate dehydrogenase activity levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples from pregnant rats were 1.5-fold greater than those from endotoxin-exposed virgin rats. BAL polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) numbers were also approximately twofold greater in pregnant rats than in virgins following the inhalation of endotoxin. The increases in BAL PMNs in pregnant rats following endotoxin exposure were observed just following exposure to endotoxin as well as at 18 h following exposure. These results indicate that an increased pulmonary inflammatory response to inhaled endotoxin occurs during pregnancy in rats. Additional findings suggest that these pregnancy-linked pulmonary responses to endotoxin cannot be explained by the following potential mechanisms: changes in the inhaled dose of endotoxin, or alterations in the responsiveness of alveolar macrophages to endotoxin. To our knowledge this is the first study that has evaluated pulmonary responses to inhaled endotoxin during pregnancy. Our finding that pregnancy is associated with an increased lung inflammatory response to aerosolized endotoxin raises the possibility that there may be a generalized enhancement of pulmonary responses to inhaled toxic agents during pregnancy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Endotoxins Laboratories Occupational Health Pregnancy Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Animal-studies Laboratory-animals Prenatal-exposure Pulmonary-function-tests Pulmonary-system-disorders Sensitivity-testing
• ISSN:
  0098-4108
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  125-144
• Volume:
  37
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024238
• Citation:
  J Toxicol Environ Health A 2004 Jan; 67(2):125-144
• Contact Point Address:
  L.J. Huffman, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
• Email:
  ljh3@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Fertility and Pregnancy Abnormalities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:07de75df60991c7c502dab0925d87188d4b3d0a10cc86c20756f7b6e0e839c6aacfe71658e50183c83206cf20abeccddde65995bf7f51af4d6f2d3aa3c795987
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196148/cdc_196148_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 319.48 KB ]