Chronic Effects of JP-8 Jet Fuel Exposure on the Pulmonary System

摘要

We have continued our pulmonary research for JP-8 toxicity over the past three years as well as continued our collaboration with other AFOSR-funded investigators by serving as the primary site for JP-8 jet fuel exposures. This research produced 13 published manuscripts over the past three years along with numerous abstracts. Additionally, we have commercialized our substance P research sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research with the formation of immuneRegen Biosciences, Inc., a public company that is listed on the NASDAQ stock market. The major scientific findings from this past three years of research in our laboratory are the establishment of a minimum dose of JP-8 jet fuel (50 mg/mg3) that demonstrates any evidence of pathological injury in the lung terminal bronchioles, co-cultures of pulmonary alveolar macrophages and alveolar type II epithelial cells caused significant differences in cytokine production, demonstration of vast differences in a young mouse lung - vs- old mouse lung in response to JP-8 fuel exposure, lung proteomic studies demonstrating significantly reduced alpha- 1-antitrypsin in mice after a moderate exposure of JP-8 jet fuel of 200 mg/m3 for one hour/day for seven days, and prior JP-8 jet fuel exposure before subsequent infection with the Hong Kong influenza virus significantly increases lung injury compared to Hong Kong virus- only controls.