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Two-year 1-bromopropane (1-BP) inhalation studies were conducted because of the potential for widespread exposure, the lack of chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity data, and the known carcinogenicity of structurally related compounds. Male and female F344/N rats and B6C3F1/N mice were exposed by inhalation to 0, 62.5 (mice only), 125, 250, or 500 (rats only) ppm 1-BP for 6 hr/day, 5 days/week for 105 weeks. Exposure of male and female rats to 1-BP resulted in significantly increased incidences of adenomas of the large intestine and skin neoplasms. In male rats, the incidence of malignant mesothelioma of the epididymis was statistically significantly increased at 500 ppm, but the biological significance of this common lesion is unclear. Incidences of pancreatic islet adenoma in male rats were significantly increased at all concentrations relative to concurrent controls but were within the historical control range for inhalation studies. There was no evidence of carcinogenic activity of 1-BP in male B6C3F1 mice; however, significantly increased incidences of alveolar/bronchiolar neoplasms of the lung were present in female mice. Exposure to 1-BP also resulted in increased incidences of nonneoplastic lesions in the nose of rats and mice, the larynx of rats and male mice, the trachea of female rats and male and female mice, and the lungs of mice. Inflammatory lesions with Splendore Hoeppli (S-H) material were present primarily in the nose and skin of exposed male and female rats, indicating that 1-BP caused immunosuppression.

Metabolism studies are crucial for data interpretation from rodent toxicity and carcinogenicity studies. Metabolism studies are usually conducted in 6 to 8 week old rodents. Long-term studies often continue beyond 100 weeks of age. The potential for age-related changes in transcript levels of genes encoding for enzymes associated with metabolism was evaluated in the liver of male F344/N rats at 32, 58, and 84 weeks of age. Differential expression was found between the young and old rats for genes whose products are involved in both phase I and phase II metabolic pathways. Thirteen cytochrome P450 genes from CYP families 1-3 showed alterations in expression in the older rats. A marked age-related decrease in expression was found for 4 members of the Cyp3a family that are critical for drug metabolism in the rat. Immunohistochemical results confirmed a significant decrease in Cyp3a2 and Cyp2c11 protein levels with age. This indicates that the metabolic capacity of male rats changes throughout a long-term study. Conducting multiple hepatic microarray analyses during the conduct of a long-term study can provide a global view of potential metabolic changes that might occur. Alterations that are considered crucial to the interpretation of long-term study results could then be confirmed by subsequent metabolic studies.

Female Fischer 344 (F344)/N rats (10 per exposure group) were exposed to 2-butoxyethanol (BE) vapors (0, 31, 62.5, 125, 250, or 500 ppm 6 h/d, 5 d/wk, for 13 weeks) to characterize its prechronic toxicity. Dental lesions consisting of bilateral multifocal dental pulp thrombosis, pulp infarction, and odontoblast infarction were noted in the maxillary incisors of 3 of 4 rats from the 500-ppm group that were sacrificed when moribund during the first week of exposure. In addition, 1 rat from the 500-ppm group that was sacrificed on day 32 had similar unilateral incisor lesions but with additional findings consistent with a unilateral maxillary incisor fracture. In contrast, rats sacrificed after 13 weeks of exposure lacked dental lesions. In conclusion, BE has the potential to cause pulp thrombosis and odontoblast infarction in female rats. The apparent variability in response to BE noted in moribund sacrificed vs terminally sacrificed rats was attributed to development of tolerance to BE-induced hemolysis and subsequent incisor regeneration.

Groups of 10 male and 10 female F344/N rats were exposed to 0, 31, 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 ppm of 2-butoxyethanol (BE) by inhalation, 6 hr/day, 5 days/wk, for 13 wk. Four moribund female rats from the 500 ppm group were sacrificed during the first 4 days of exposure, and 1 moribund female from the same group was sacrificed during week 5. Dark irregular mottling and/or loss of the distal tail were noted in sacrificed moribund rats. Similar gross lesions were noted in the terminally sacrificed females exposed to 500 ppm BE. Histologic changes noted in the day 4 sacrificed moribund rats included disseminated thrombosis involving the coccygeal vertebrae, cardiac atrium, lungs, liver, pulp of the incisor teeth, and the submucosa of the anterior section of the nasal cavity. Alterations noted in coccygeal vertebrae from the 500 ppm sacrificed moribund rats included ischemic necrosis and/or degeneration of bone marrow cells, bone-lining cells, osteocytes (within cortical and trabecular bone), and chondrocytes (both articular and growth plate), changes that are consistent with an infarction process. The moribund female rat that was sacrificed during week 5 and those female rats treated with 500 ppm and sacrificed following 13 wk of treatment lacked thrombi, but they had coccygeal vertebral changes consistent with prior infarction and transient or complete bone growth arrest. No bone lesions or thrombi were noted in the male rats treated with the same doses of BE. In conclusion, exposure to 500 ppm BE vapors caused acute disseminated thrombosis and bone infarction in female rats. Possible pathogenic mechanisms are discussed.

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) was evaluated for carcinogenicity in inhalation studies because of its high use in the production of Teflon. There was clear evidence of hepatocarcinogenic activity in B6C3F1 mice after 2 yr of TFE exposure. The present study was designed to characterize the mutation profiles of H- and K-ras oncogenes in liver neoplasms in mice after exposure to 0, 312, 625, or 1,250 ppm TFE. ras mutations were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism, single-stranded conformation polymorphism analysis, and direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction amplified-DNA isolated from frozen or paraffin-embedded liver neoplasms. A low frequency (15%, 9/59) of H-ras codon 61 mutations was detected in hepatocellular neoplasms when compared with the higher frequency (59% of this study and 56% of historical data) in spontaneously occurring liver neoplasms. There was no difference in the mutation frequency or spectrum among exposure groups or between benign and malignant hepatocellular neoplasms. K-ras mutations at codons 12, 13, and 61 and H-ras mutations at codon 117 were not detected in hepatocellular neoplasms. These data suggest that TFE-induced hepatocellular neoplasms are developed by pathways that are mostly independent of ras mutations. The ras mutation frequency and spectrum were similar to those of the structurally related chemical tetrachloroethylene.

To evaluate the toxicity and carcinogenic potential of long-term exposure to ozone, B6C3F1 mice were exposed by whole-body inhalation to 0, 0.12, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm and 0, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm ozone for 24 or 30 mo (lifetime), respectively. The incidence of alveolar/ bronchiolar adenomas and carcinomas (combined) increased (p < 0.05) in female mice exposed to 1.0 ppm for 24 or 30 mo and marginally increased (p > 0.05) in male mice exposed to concentrations of 0.5 or 1.0 ppm. An increased incidence of nonneoplastic lesions were observed in the nasal cavities and in the centriacinar region of the lung of mice exposed to 0.5 or 1.0 ppm for 24 and 30 mo. Nasal cavity lesions were mild and included hyaline degeneration, hyperplasia, squamous metaplasia, fibrosis and suppurative inflammation of the transitional and respiratory epithelium of the lateral wall, and atrophy of the olfactory epithelium. Lung lesions included replacement of the epithelium of the alveolar ducts and adjacent alveolar septa with epithelium similar to that normally found in terminal bronchioles (metaplasia) and associated alveolar histiocytosis. Based on the results of these studies, we conclude that inhalation exposure of B6C3F1 mice to ozone for 24 or 30 mo (a) is carcinogenic in female B6C3F1 mice exposed to 1.0 ppm of ozone based on an increased incidence of alveolar/bronchiolar adenoma or carcinoma and (b) results in mild, site-specific, nonneoplastic lesions in the nasal cavity and centriacinar lung of male and female mice exposed to 0.5 or 1.0 ppm of ozone for 2 yrs, which persist with continued exposure to 30 mo. It is uncertain whether or not the marginal increase (p > 0.05) of alveolar/bronchiolar neoplasms in male B6C3F1 mice resulted from exposure to ozone.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and potential carcinogenicity or cocarcinogenicity of ozone exposure in rats. Fischer-344/N (F-344/N) rats were exposed 6 hr/day, 5 days/wk, to 0, 0.12, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm ozone by inhalation for 2-yr and lifetime exposures. The cocarcinogenicity study included subcutaneous administration of 0, 0.1, or 1.0 mg/kg body weight of 4-(N-nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and inhalation of 0 or 0.5 ppm ozone to male rats. NNK was administered by subcutaneous injections 3 times per week for the first 20 wk with ozone inhalation exposure. The ozone inhalation exposure was for 2 yr (104 wk), including the first 20 wk of NNK treatment and continuing for 84 wk after the last NNK injection. Ozone exposure caused a concentration-related increase in inflammation of the centriacinar region of the lung. There was also increased fibrosis and an extension of the bronchiolar epithelium in these centriacinar regions to involve the proximal alveoli. There was no increased incidence of neoplasms at any site, including the lung, that was associated with ozone exposure. Rats administered 1.0 mg/kg body weight NNK alone had an increased incidence of bronchiolar/alveolar neoplasms, but this effect was not enhanced by ozone exposure. Ozone exposure for 2 yr and lifetime was associated with site-specific toxic alterations in the nasal passage and lung similar to those previously described for short-term exposures. While there was significant attenuation of the pulmonary lesions as compared to short-term exposures, lesions persisted in the lifetime study and there was evidence of a mild progressive fibrosis. We conclude that under the conditions of these studies: (a) ozone exposure is not carcinogenic to either male or female F-344/N rats, (b) ozone does not enhance the incidence of pulmonary neoplasms in F-344/N rats exposed to a known pulmonary carcinogen (NNK), and (c) mild site-specific toxic lesions characteristic of ozone exposure persist in the nasal passage and lung throughout the lifetime of the rat with continued ozone exposure.