The effects of ozone and paraquat on PGF 2α and PGE 2 levels in plasma and combined pleural effusion and lung lavage of rats

Abstract

The effects of lung toxins O 3 and paraquat on PGF 2α and PGE 2 levels of plasma and combined pleural effusion and lung lavage were studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats using radioimmunoassay. The plasma concentration of PGF 2α in rats exposed to 4 ppm O 3 for 2, 4, and 8 hr was increased by 186, 109, and 25%, respectively. The increases in PGF 2α level in pleural effusion-lung lavage of these rats at the corresponding times were 82, 0, and 65%. The plasma concentrations of PGF 2α and PGE 2 were increased in response to treatment with paraquat (45 mg/kg i.p.). The increases in plasma PGF 2α at 1.5, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hr following paraquat treatment were 223, 128, 47, 270, 195, and 130%, respectively. The increases in plasma concentration of PGE 2 at the corresponding times were 9, 88, 279, 323, 325, and 66%. In view of a dramatic increase in the prostaglandin level of plasma and pleural effusion-lung lavage following exposure to O 3 and treatment with paraquat, it has been suggested that an increased level of prostaglandin in plasma and lung lavage (done in case of O 3) might offer some diagnostic value for the morphological and functional impairment of the lung.