Biomarkers : biochemical indicators of exposure, response, and susceptibility to chemicals
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Nitrogen trichloride (NCl(3)) is an irritant gas released in the air of indoor pools sanitized with chlorine-based disinfectants. In the present study we investigated the effects of NCl(3) on the pulmonary epithelium of pool attendees by measuring the leakage into serum of three lung-specific proteins (pneumoproteins): the alveolar surfactant-associated proteins A and B (SP-A and SP-B) and the bronchiolar 16 kDa Clara cell protein (CC16). These pneumoproteins were measured in the serum of 29 recreational swimmers (16 children and 13 adults) before and after attending a chlorinated pool with a mean NCl(3) concentration of 490 microg m(-3). ⋯ The ability of NCl(3) to acutely disrupt the lung epithelium barrier was confirmed in mice using serum CC16 and plasma proteins in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as permeability markers. The significance of these permeability changes induced by NCl(3) in the deep lung is presently unknown. In view of the increasing and widespread human exposure to this gas not only in indoor pools but also in a variety of other situations, these findings warrant further study.