Halogen exposure injury in the developing lung

Abstract

Owing to a high-volume industrial usage of the halogens chlorine (Cl 2) and bromine (Br 2), they are stored and transported in abundance, creating a risk for accidental or malicious release to human populations. Despite extensive efforts to understand the mechanisms of toxicity upon halogen exposure and to develop specific treatments that could be used to treat exposed individuals or large populations, until recently, there has been little to no effort to determine whether there are specific features and or the mechanisms of halogen exposure injury in newborns or children. We established a model of neonatal halogen exposure and published our initial findings. In this review, we aim to contrast and compare the findings in neonatal mice exposed to Br 2 with the findings published on adult mice exposed to Br 2 and the neonatal murine models of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Despite remarkable similarities across these models in overall alveolar architecture, there are distinct functional and apparent mechanistic differences that are characteristic of each model. Understanding the mechanistic and functional features that are characteristic of the injury process in neonatal mice exposed to halogens will allow us to develop countermeasures that are appropriate for, and effective in, this unique population.

Countermeasures against Pulmonary Threat Agents

“…An immediate challenge in mass casualty scenarios is to develop strategies to protect survivors without prior knowledge of the inhaled toxicant. In addition, animal studies using pregnant dams and neonates have shown vulnerable subgroups are highly susceptible to pulmonary toxicants and may require population specific care (Addis, Molyvdas et al 2020, Addis, Aggarwal et al 2021.…”

Electrochemical Bromofunctionalization of Alkenes and Alkynes—To Sustainability and Beyond

“…Almost half of the globally produced bromine is used to produce the latter, which can easily leach out, posing a persistent environmental problem [40,41]. As well as its environmental toxicity, bromine's storage and transportation equally pose hazards [42,43].…”

Differential modulation of lung aquaporins among other pathophysiological markers in acute (Cl2 gas) and chronic (carbon nanoparticles, cigarette smoke) respiratory toxicity mouse models

“…Such environmental exposures may be compounded by chronic coexposure from unhealthy lifestyle practices, particularly smoking ( Morissette et al, 2014 ; Dai et al, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, highly toxic gases such as chlorine gas (Cl 2 ) ( Addis et al, 2020 ; Lazrak et al, 2020 ) have been misused as chemical threat agents and in chemical warfare because of their acute toxicity to respiratory system ( Govier and Coulson, 2018 ; Jacobs and Kovac, 2020 ).…”

“…Inhaled toxicants may variably induce lung pathophysiology causing toxicity/injury-associated acute conditions (such as pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome) and/or chronic lung diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, among others ( Frank et al, 2016 ; Addis et al, 2020 ; Lazrak et al, 2020 ). Pathophysiological changes from acute and chronic toxic exposures are often characterized by inflammation, edema, fibrosis, and/or hyperplasia/dysplasia.…”