Strategies for testing the irritation-signaling model for chronic lung effects of fine acid particles

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.1990.10466689· OSTI ID:7042767

Hattis, D; Abdollahzadeh, S; Franklin, C A ^[1]

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1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (USA)

The irritation signaling model proposed that a long term contribution to chronic bronchitis might result from the repeated delivery of signals resulting from temporary localized acidification of the bronchial epithelium by the action of individual particles. This led to a prediction that the effectiveness of particles in inducing changes in mucus secreting cell numbers/types should depend on the number of particles deposited that contained a particular amount of acid--implying that particles below a certain size cutoff (and therefore lacking a minimum amount of acid) should be ineffective; and that particle potency per unit weight should be greatest at the cutoff and decline strongly above the cutoff. Since the development of this hypothesis both epidemiological observations and some experimental studies have tended to reinforce the notion that acid particles can make a contribution to relatively long lasting bronchitic-like changes, and enhance the desirability of more direct testing of the model. In this paper we develop a general theoretical framework for the contributions of environmental agents to chronic obstructive lung disease, and a series of alternative hypotheses against which the predictions of the irritant signaling model can be compared. Based on this, we suggest a research program that could be used to further develop and test the model and reasonable alternatives. 82 references.

• OSTI ID: 7042767
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA), Vol. 40:3; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LUNGS
SENSITIVITY
PARTICULATES
TOXICITY
ACIDIFICATION
AIR POLLUTION
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
EPITHELIUM
MAN
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTICLE SIZE
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
RETENTION
REVIEWS
ANIMAL TISSUES
ANIMALS
BODY
DISEASES
DOCUMENT TYPES
MAMMALS
ORGANS
PARTICLES
POLLUTION
PRIMATES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SIZE
TISSUES
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology