BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN RAT LUNG LAVAGE FLUID FOLLOWING ACUTE SULFUR MUSTARD INHALATION: II. INCREASES IN PROTEOLYTIC ACTIVITY

Abstract

Inhalation exposure of rats to sulfur mustard (HD) followed by assay of lung lavage fluid with Chromozym TH (thrombin-like) and TRY (trypsin-like) serine protease substrates revealed a time-dependent increase in proteolytic activity. HD (0.35 mg) in absolute ethanol (100 l) or ethanol alone (control) was placed in a glass vapor generator at 37 C, and test rats were subjected to inhalation exposure for 50 min. Increased proteolysis of the TH substrate (2.6 times control levels) was seen at 4 h after HD exposure, and enhanced proteolysis of both TH and TRY substrates, 13.1 and 2.6 times control levels, respectively, was observed at 24 h. HD inhalation exposure causes lung pathology that inReceived BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN RAT LUNG LAVAGE FLUID FOLLOWING ACUTE SULFUR MUSTARD INHALATION: II. INCREASES IN PROTEOLYTIC ACTIVITY Fred M. Cowan Biochemical Pharmacology Branch, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland,