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Methyl mercaptan gas: mechanisms of toxicity and demonstration of the effectiveness of cobinamide as an antidote in mice and rabbits.
- Source :
- Clinical Toxicology (15563650); May2022, Vol. 60 Issue 5, p615-622, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Methyl mercaptan (CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH) is a colorless, toxic gas with potential for occupational exposure and used as a weapon of mass destruction. Inhalation at high concentrations can result in dyspnea, hypoventilation, seizures, and death. No specific methyl mercaptan antidote exists, highlighting a critical need for such an agent. Here, we investigated the mechanism of CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH toxicity, and rescue from CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH poisoning by the vitamin B<subscript>12</subscript> analog cobinamide, in mammalian cells. We also developed lethal CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH inhalation models in mice and rabbits, and tested the efficacy of intramuscular injection of cobinamide as a CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH antidote. We found that cobinamide binds to CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH (K<subscript>d</subscript> = 84 µM), and improved growth of cells exposed to CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH. CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH reduced cellular oxygen consumption and intracellular ATP content and activated the stress protein c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK); cobinamide reversed these changes. A single intramuscular injection of cobinamide (20 mg/kg) rescued 6 of 6 mice exposed to a lethal dose of CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH gas, while all six saline-treated mice died (p = 0.0013). In rabbits exposed to CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH gas, 11 of 12 animals (92%) treated with two intramuscular injections of cobinamide (50 mg/kg each) survived, while only 2 of 12 animals (17%) treated with saline survived (p = 0.001). We conclude that cobinamide could potentially serve as a CH<subscript>3</subscript>SH antidote. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15563650
- Volume :
- 60
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Clinical Toxicology (15563650)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 155952133
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2021.2017949