Pulmonary clearance and inflammatory response in C3H/HeJ mice after intranasal exposure to Pseudomonas spp.

The environmental release of engineered microorganisms has caused health and environmental concerns. In this study, an animal model was used to examine health effects following pulmonary exposure to environmental and clinical isolates. In order to rule out the possibility that an adverse response was caused by endotoxin, 50% lethal doses (LD50) were determined, when possible, with endotoxin-sensitive (C3HeB/FeJ) and endotoxin-resistant (C3H/HeJ) mice by using both environmental isolates (Pseudomonas aeruginosa BC16, BC17, BC18, and AC869 and Pseudomonas maltophilia BC6) and clinical isolates (P. aeruginosa PAO1 and DG1). The LD50 of strains AC869, DG1, and PAO1 are 1.05 x 10(7), 6.56 x 10(6), and 1.02 x 10(7) CFU, respectively, in C3HeB/FeJ mice and 1.05 x 10(7), 1.00 x 10(7), and 2.75 x 10(6) CFU, respectively, in C3H/HeJ mice. Strains BC17 and BC18 were not lethal to the animals. On the basis of the LD50 data, an appropriate sublethal dose (approximately 10(6) CFU) was selected. Animals were challenged intranasally with microorganisms, and clearance from the lungs and nasal cavity was determined. Strains BC17, BC18, and AC869 were not detected in lungs or nasal washes 14 days following treatment. Strains BC6, BC16, and DG1 were recovered from the nasal cavities at the end of the experiment. Only strain PAO1 was detected in lungs and in nasal cavities 14 days after treatment. At selected intervals following treatment, the percentages of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage samples were determined. P. aeruginosa AC869, PAO1, and DG1 elicited a relatively strong inflammatory response which was indirectly related to lung clearance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Induction of prophage lambda by chlorinated organics: detection of some single-species/single-site carcinogens.

Twenty-eight chlorinated organic compounds were evaluated for their ability to induce DNA damage using the Microscreen prophage-induction assay in Escherichia coli. Comparison of the performance characteristics of the prophage-induction and Salmonella assays to rodent carcinogenicity assays showed that the prophage-induction assay had a somewhat higher specificity than did the Salmonella assay (70% vs. 50%); sensitivity, concordance, and positive and negative predictivity were similar for the two microbial assays. The Microscreen prophage-induction assay failed to detect eight carcinogens, perhaps due to toxicity or other unknown factors; five of these eight carcinogens were detected by the Salmonella assay. However, the prophage-induction assay did detect six carcinogens that were not detected by the Salmonella assay, and five of these were single-species, single-site carcinogens, mostly mouse liver carcinogens. Some of these carcinogens, such as the chloroethanes, produce free radicals, which may be the basis for their carcinogenicity and ability to induce prophage. The prophage-induction (or other SOS) assay may be useful in identifying some genotoxic chlorinated carcinogens that induce DNA damage that does not revert the standard Salmonella tester strains.

Compatibility of organic solvents with the Microscreen prophage-induction assay: solvent--mutagen interactions.

The following solvents did not induce prophage lambda in the Escherichia coli WP2s(lambda) Microscreen assay: acetone, benzene, chloroform, ethanol, n-hexane, isopropanol, methanol, toluene, and a mixture of the three isomers of xylene. Dimethyl sulfoxide was genotoxic in the presence and absence of S9, and methylene chloride was weakly genotoxic in the presence of S9. The genotoxic potencies of 2-aminoanthracene and 2-nitrofluorene were reduced when dissolved in DMSO or methanol compared to their potencies when dissolved in acetone.

Induction of prophage lambda by chlorophenols.

Chlorinated phenols, which are used primarily as wood preservatives and fungicides, are present in most air, water, and soil samples in industrialized areas as well as in the urine of most people. We have examined the ability of phenol and the 19 isomers of chlorophenol to induce DNA damage using the Microscreen prophage-induction assay in Escherichia coli. Seven of the isomers (2,3,4,-tri, 2,4,5-tri, 3,4,5-tri, 2,3,4,5-tetra, 2,3,6-tri, 2,4,6-tri, and pentachlorophenol) induced prophage lambda in the presence of S9, with the first three being approximately 10 times more potent than the last three. The more potent isomers have either one or no chlorine atom ortho to the OH group; whereas the less potent isomers have two chlorine atoms ortho to the OH group. Although none of the 20 compounds is mutagenic in Salmonella, the prophage-induction results agree with findings by others that most of these seven isomers are clastogenic, are associated with cancer and chromosomal aberrations in humans (pentachlorophenol), and are carcinogenic in rodents (2,4,6-tri and pentachlorophenol). A likely basis for the genotoxicity of the seven isomers involves the metabolism of the parent isomer to a chlorohydroquinone, which can form a chlorobenzosemiquinone in the presence of oxygen. These two metabolites can produce free radicals that can cause DNA strand breaks, resulting in prophage induction in E. coli or, possibly, the chromosomal aberrations/cancer associated with human exposure to chlorophenols.

An immunogold assay system for the detection of antigen or antibody.

A colloidal gold-based semi-quantitative manual immunoassay method for the detection of antibody or antigen has been developed. The colloidal gold particles are coated with an organic reagent which, in turn, is attached to the antibody by covalent bonds. The antibody or the antigen are immobilized on simple chromatography paper. The paper strips are developed with an appropriate immunogold reagent in a test tube in the presence of urine (Pregnancy or Ovulation test) or serum (Rubella test). The mixture migrates up the strips towards the test band. A purple band develops which indicates the presence of the corresponding antigen (Pregnancy, Ovulation test) or antibody (Rubella test). In this format, 50 mIU or more of hCG in urine can be detected in 5 minutes or less, and antibody to Rubella virus at an HAI titer equivalent of 8 or above in serum can be detected in 10 minutes or less. These test kits, known as Result Plus test systems, are simple, rapid, highly sensitive, and require no instruments to perform.