Pulmonary biochemical response to slate dust in rats

M. Firoze Khan, Shahid Ali, Shivendra V. Singh, Qamar Rahman, P. N. Viswanathan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The biochemical changes in rat lungs due to intratracheal instillation of 50 mg of slate dust have been studied up to 150 days of dust exposure. The remarkable feature of lung changes was the turnover of collagen in experimental animals after 90 days, reaching substantially higher values at 150 days. A concurrent increase in hexosamine and sialic acid contents was also observed. The phospholipid content in the whole lung tissue, as well as in the mitochondria, was generally higher in the dust‐treated rats, particularly at the later stages. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities increased, whereas monoamine oxidase was marginally affected. Mitochondria from experimental animals appeared to be in a swollen state, particularly at 120 days of exposure. The above results suggest that slate dust exerts its toxic effects by causing alterations in the tissue make‐up as well as in the mitochondrial functioning of the lung.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)87-91
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Applied Toxicology
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1984
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • lung mitochondria
  • pneumoconiosis
  • pulmonary changes
  • slate dust

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Toxicology

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