Inhibition of rat respiratory-tract cytochrome P-450 activity after acute low-level m-xylene inhalation: role in 1-nitronaphthalene toxicity

Long-term ozone exposure attenuates 1-nitronaphthalene-induced cytotoxicity in nasal mucosa

1-Nitronaphthalene (1-NN) and ozone are cytotoxic air pollutants commonly found as components of photochemical smog. The mechanism of toxicity for 1-NN involves bioactivation by cytochrome P450s and subsequent adduction to proteins. Previous studies have shown that 1-NN toxicity in the lung is considerably higher in rats after long-term exposure to ozone compared with the corresponding filtered air-exposed control rats. The aim of the present study was to establish whether long-term exposure to ozone alters the susceptibility of nasal mucosa to the bioactivated toxicant, 1-NN. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to filtered air or 0.8 ppm ozone for 8 hours per day for 90 days, followed by a single treatment with 0, 12.5, or 50.0 mg/kg 1-NN by intraperitoneal injection. The results of the histopathologic analyses show that the nasal mucosa of rats is a target of systemic 1-NN, and that long-term ozone exposure markedly lessens the severity of injury, as well as the protein adduct formation by reactive 1-NN metabolites. The antagonistic effects were primarily seen in the nasal transitional epithelium, which corresponds to the main site of histologic changes attributed to ozone exposure (goblet cell metaplasia and hyperplasia). Long-term ozone exposure did not appear to alter susceptibility to 1-NN injury in other nasal regions. This study shows that long-term ozone exposure has a protective effect on the susceptibility of nasal transitional epithelium to subsequent 1-NN, a result that clearly contrasts with the synergistic toxicological effect observed in pulmonary airway epithelium in response to the same exposure regimen.

Molecular characterization and expression of the gene encoding aspartate aminotransferase from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas exposed to environmental stressors

A partial cDNA encoding cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (EC 2.6.1.1) was isolated from a Crassostrea gigas digestive gland library. This sequence was used to design specific primers to amplify the AST genomic sequence. We obtained a complete gene, 5054 bp in length, encoding cytosolic AST and containing a 404 amino acid open reading frame. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. gigas AST sequence constitutes a branch distinct from homologous sequences from other invertebrate groups. We also investigated AST mRNA expression in different tissues of oysters exposed to hydrocarbons, pesticides, hypoxia and hypo-salinity stress. The results showed that AST expression responds to hydrocarbon exposure, hypoxia and salinity stress, but not to pesticide exposure in an organ and time-specific manner. Use of AST as a potential molecular biomarker for monitoring of disturbed ecosystems is discussed.