Effects of crude oil and diesel exposures on biochemical activities of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in cattle.

Cattle exposed to low doses of an Alberta crude oil, Pembina Cardium crude oil (PCCO), or a winter diesel oil no. 2 (WDO-2) were assessed for their biochemical activities in polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) cells (mainly neutrophils). The study used a randomized block design containing five treatment groups (8 animals/group). The animals were dosed per gavage with the test substance on study days 0, 14, 28, and 42. The dosages given (on per kg body weight) were: Group 1 (control), 10 mL/kg of potable water; Group 2, 5 mL/kg WDO-2; Group 3, 2.5 mL/kg PCCO; Group 4, 5 mL/kg PCCO; and Group 5, 10 mL/kg PCCO. Blood was collected at the specified intervals during the pre- and post-exposure periods, and the biochemical activities of isolated PMNL were analyzed. Cattle groups exposed to WDO-2 and PCCO showed moderate and statistically significant reductions (p < 0.01) in the activities of (1) phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulated cellular respiration (respiratory burst), (2) NADPH-oxidase (PMA-stimulated production of superoxide anion), (3) myeloperoxidase, and (4) n-acetylglucosidase as compared to the control group. These biochemical parameters also showed statistically significant (p < 0.01) dose-related periodic (study day) trends. In general, these biochemical activities were decreased after each dosing; however, they subsequently recovered to near the pre-dosing levels. Such a biochemical response in PMNL provides a valuable biological tool to follow exposure effects in cattle accidentally exposed to low doses of petroleum hydrocarbons.

Biochemical changes as early stage systemic biomarkers of petroleum hydrocarbon exposure in rats.

Crude and refined petroleum contain a complex mixture of aliphatic, aromatic, polyaromatic and heterocyclic hydrocarbon compounds. The objective of our research was to investigate early-stage biochemical changes in rats exposed to low dosages of petroleum hydrocarbons. The animals were repeatedly exposed, per oral by gavage, to low dosages (0.5-2.5 ml/kg) of an Alberta crude oil (ACO) and their general health and systemic biochemical parameters were assessed. Rats exposed to these doses of ACO did not show any apparent symptoms of intoxication. Similarly, no significant changes were observed in clinical parameters of systemic impairment. Systemic biochemical assessment has shown that ACO exposure caused marked changes in the activities of several cytochrome P-450 (CYP)-linked polysubstrate monooxygenase enzymes in liver, kidney and lung tissues. Exposure to ACO caused dose-dependent increases in the hepatic activities of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, a CYP 1A1/A2-linked enzyme; pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase, a CYP 2B-linked enzyme, and ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase, a CYP 2B/1A-linked enzyme. Temporal assessment showed that these systemic biochemical changes were reversible in nature. Analysis of biomarker chemicals provided evidence that in exposed animals petroleum hydrocarbons were mainly distributed in the adipose tissues.

Effects of multiple exposures of small doses of Pembina Cardium crude oil and diesel in rats.

In lands used for agricultural purposes, petroleum- or diesel-contaminated wastes and accidental spills of crude oil at some drilling sites pose exposure risks for occupational public, livestock, and wildlife. This study has assessed the effects of an Alberta crude oil, Pembina Cardium crude oil (PCCO), and a commercial diesel fuel #2 (CDF-2) in Sprague-Dawley rats after repeated exposures at small dose levels. Rats were given by gavage on day 1, 3, 5, and 8 specified dosages of either the control vehicle, methylcellulose (MC) (1.25 ml/kg), or PCCO (0.25-1.25 ml/kg), or CDF-2 (1.25 ml/kg). Exposure of rats to these dose levels of the test substances caused no overt symptoms of intoxication. A small but statistically significant increase in liver somatic index was observed in rats exposed to 1.25 ml/kg doses of PCCO and CDF-2; however, kidney somatic index was not significantly affected by these treatments. Blood analyses for hematological and clinical indicators of systemic impairments did not show any significant changes (p > 0.05) between the control and PCCO- or CDF-2-exposed rats. Biochemical assessment of liver and kidney tissues showed that compared to the control group, the PCCO- and CDF-2-exposed groups had a marked and significant increase (p < 0.05) in the hepatic activity of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD, a cytochrome P-450 [CYP] 1A1/A2-linked enzyme). In PCCO-exposed rats, the induction of EROD was dose-dependent. Exposure of rats with PCCO and CDF-2 also caused dose-related increases from the unexposed (control) or MC dosed rats in (1) hepatic activities of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH, a CYP 1A1-linked enzyme), ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (ECOD, a CYP 2B/1A-linked enzyme), glutathione transferase (GT), and NADPH-catalyzed microsomal lipid peroxidation; and (ii) ECOD activity in kidneys. The induction of hepatic CYP-linked enzymatic activities by PCCO and CDF-2 could be due to de novo synthesis of selected isoforms, as evidenced by the relative differences in the inhibition of EROD activity with 7,8-benzoflavone or metyrapone.

Biochemical effects of Pembina Cardium crude oil exposure in cattle.

Crude oil pollution at drilling sites located within or in close proximity to agricultural pasture lands poses serious health risks to cattle raised on these lands. To investigate the clinical and systemic biochemical effects, cattle (8/group) were administered single oral doses of Pembina Cardium crude oil (PCCO) at 16.7, 33.4, and 67.4 g/kg, or water (control group) at 80 g/kg. Cattle exposed to PCCO showed dose-dependent clinical effects. At the lowest dosage, PCCO caused transient and minimal clinical effects; however, high dosages caused varied clinical signs which included tremors, nystagmus, vomiting, and pulmonary distress. On posttreatment day 7 or 30, four cattle from each treatment group were sacrificed and biochemical parameters were assayed in liver, lungs, and kidney cortex. In cattle monitored on posttreatment day 7, the PCCO-treated groups showed marked alterations from the control group in hepatic cytochrome P-450 (P-450), and in aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (ECOD) activities of these tissues. Administration of PCCO caused significant increases (> 100%) in hepatic P-450, but produced variable effects on AHH and ECOD activities in each tissue. The activity of AHH was increased in all tissues; however, the effect was highest in kidney cortex (> 5000%), followed by liver (> 500%) and lungs (> 250%). The activity of ECOD was altered in a differential manner. It was either increased markedly (>1300%) in kidney cortex or increased slightly (20-30%) in liver, but decreased (> 80%) in lungs. The activities of respiratory chain enzymes (succinate-cytochrome c reductase, NADH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome oxidase), or NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and glutathione transferase were not changed significantly in any tissues. The alterations in P-450, AHH, and ECOD observed on day 7 were markedly reversed in cattle examined on day 30 posttreatment, indicating a recovery from induced changes. Studies in vitro with hepatic microsomal preparations from day 7 posttreatment groups showed that increases in AHH and ECOD activity in PCCO-treated cattle were due to induction of new isoforms of P-450, as evidenced by (1) the appearance of a 448-nm spectral peak, and (2) differential inhibitory effects of metyrapone and 7,8-benzoflavone on AHH and ECOD activities.

Effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure on lung mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes in rats.

Fischer-344 rats were exposed for 4 hr to various concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas and killed either immediately or at 1, 24, or 48 hr after exposure. Mitochondrial fractions from lung tissues were assayed for the activities of respiratory chain enzymes. Exposure of rats to a low concentration (10 ppm) of H2S caused no significant changes in the activities of lung mitochondrial enzymes. However, exposure to sublethal concentrations of H2S (50-400 ppm) produced marked and highly significant depressions in the activities of cytochrome c oxidase and succinate oxidase complexes of the respiratory chain. The inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity in lungs was most severe (greater than 90%) in rats that died from acute exposure to greater than 500 ppm H2S. In rats exposed to 200 and 400 ppm H2S, a marked recovery in cytochrome c oxidase activity of lungs was observed at 24 and 48 hr postexposure. Studies in vitro with rat lung mitochondria showed that low concentrations of sulfide also caused a similar and selective inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity. This effect was reversed upon removal of sulfide either by washing or by oxidation with methemoglobin. The nature of sulfide inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase was noncompetitive with respect to ferrocytochrome c. Because the activities of NADH-cytochrome c reductase and succinate-cytochrome c reductase were not significantly altered by H2S exposure and in vitro treatments with low concentrations of sulfide, it is concluded that under physiological conditions H2S would block the respiratory chain primarily by inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase. Such a biochemical impairment would lead to functional (histotoxic) hypoxia in the lung tissues.

Effects of dichlorvos on blood cholinesterase activities of cattle.

Inhibitory effects of dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, DDVP) [corrected] on erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plasma cholinesterase (ChE) activities of steers were characterized after treatments in vitro and in vivo (cutaneous application). The rates of in vitro inhibition were markedly influenced by DDVP concentration and incubation time. The activities of inhibited enzymes failed to reactivate spontaneously and had little response to treatment with 2-pyridine aldoxime methiodide (2-PAM). After gel-filtration chromatography, however, the inhibited enzymes had remarkable spontaneous reactivation and reactivation by 2-PAM treatment, indicating interference of excess unreacted DDVP in the reactivation process. Repeated cutaneous applications of a DDVP-containing livestock spray caused marked and characteristic decreases of AChE and ChE activities in blood of treated steers; however, the effects were transient because activities of both enzymes regenerated gradually. The nature of these in vivo trends suggests that spontaneous and de novo synthetic mechanisms could be responsible for complete recovery of both enzyme activities.

Induction of hepatic cytochrome P-450 and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in rats gavaged with an Alberta crude oil.

Changes in body weight gain and in biochemical parameters of blood and liver were assessed in Sprague-Dawley rats after multiple oral administration of three test doses of an Alberta crude oil (ACO). Rats treated with ACO (1.25-5 ml/kg) did not show statistically significant (p greater than .05) differences from control, corn-oil treated (5 ml/kg) rats, in body weight gains, liver weight, and blood biochemical indicators of liver (alanine aminotransferase, gamma glutamyltransferase), kidney (blood urea nitrogen, creatinine), and erythrocyte (adenosine 5'-triphosphate, 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid, reduced glutathione) cytotoxicity. Treatment with ACO, however, caused statistically significant (p less than .05) and dose-related increases from control in (1) microsomal protein and cytochrome P-450 content, and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), and 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase (7-ECOD) activities, and (2) cytosolic glutathione transferase activity of liver. The induction of hepatic cytochrome P-450 and xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes in microsomes of ACO-treated rats was probably associated with dose-related changes in isozymic forms of cytochrome P-450, as evidenced by (1) appearance of a 448-nm spectral peak in microsomes of ACO-treated rats and (2) differences in the inhibition pattern of AHH and 7-ECOD activities in microsomes of control and ACO-treated rats upon treatment with metyrapone and 7,8-benzoflavone.

In vitro and in vivo effects of dichlorvos on blood cholinesterase activities of cattle.

Studies were conducted to ascertain in vitro effects and effects of percutaneous application (in vivo) of dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate; DDVP) on cholinesterase activities in bovine erythrocytes and plasma. Treatment in vitro of erythrocytes and plasma with DDVP resulted in concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and plasma cholinesterase (ChE) activities. Mean (+/- SD) DDVP concentrations required to cause 50% enzyme inhibition were 15.7 +/- 3.3 microM and 43.1 +/- 5.7 microM for AChE and ChE, respectively; however, these values required to achieve this inhibition were markedly decreased with increasing incubation time. The inhibited AChE activity failed to be reactivated after incubation of erythrocytes with 2-pyridine aldoxime methiodide (2-PAM); however, limited reactivation of inhibited AChE and ChE activities was observed with excess concentration of 2-PAM. Percutaneous application of a DDVP-containing livestock spray on cattle also caused a marked decrease in the in vivo activities of AChE and ChE; however, the inhibited enzyme activities were reactivated rapidly after incubation with 2-PAM.

Inhibitory effects of various sulfur compounds on the activity of bovine erythrocyte enzymes.

Studies were conducted to assess the in vitro effects of selected sulfur compounds on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSHPX), and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) in hemolyzates of bovine erythrocytes. All sulfur compounds produced concentration-dependent inhibition in the activities of these enzymes, but their effects on each enzyme were different. SOD and catalase activities were most sensitive to sulfide (S2-), followed by sulfite (SO3(2-)) and sulfate (SO4(2-)). GSHPX activity was most sensitive to SO3(2-), followed by S2-, cysteine and SO4(2-). The activity of G6PDH, however, was maximally inhibited by reduced glutathione (GSH), followed by SO3(2-) and SO4(2-); S2- was inhibitory only at high concentrations. Dialysis of the S2- and SO3(2-)-inhibited enzymes resulted in complete or partial reversal of inhibitory effects. The biochemical significance of these effects in relation to erythrocyte physiology is discussed.