Abstract
Metabolic behavior and pulmonary toxicity of yttrium chloride (YCl 3) deposited in the lung was investigated. Yttrium chloride was instilled intratracheally into rats and the time-course and dose-related changes in distribution of Y between lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and pulmonary inflammatory responses were investigated. Pulmonary clearance of Y was very slow and the half-life was estimated to be 168 days. Yttrium content in the supernatant of BALF did not exceed 5 μg Y/lung even when a dose of 200 μg Y/rat was administered, suggesting that the alveolar surface fluid could retain at most 5 μg Y. On the other hand, Y content in the pellet of BALF changed with the number of macrophages retrieved in BALF in both time-course and dose-response experiments. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis suggested that Y was localized in lysosomes of alveolar and interstitial macrophages, and basement membranes. These results clearly explain the long pulmonary half-life of Y. β-Glucuronidase activity and calcium and phosphorous contents in the supernatant of BALF increased significantly even at the lowest dose (10 μg Y/rat). Comparative dose-effect profiles of lactate dehydrogenase activity in BALF supernatant revealed that 1 mol of YCl 3 is equivalent to about one-third mole of cadmium compounds and about 3 mol of zinc oxide in the potency for acute pulmonary toxicity.
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