EPRI Air Quality Research Presented at Toxicology Conference
Three posters describing EPRI research findings were presented at the Society of Toxicology’s 49th Annual Meeting, held in Salt Lake City in early March.

• Wagner, J.G., et al. “PM_2.5–Induced Changes in Heart Rate Variability in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats are Associated with Specific Sources in Detroit, MI and Steubenville, OH.”  Co-authored by EPRI’s Annette Rohr, this poster described rat exposures to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) from two Midwest airsheds.  CAPs concentrations were similar for the two airsheds, but the cardiovascular effects from the PM were greater in Detroit and more strongly associated with major emissions sources than in Steubenville.
• McDonald, J., et al. “Comparison of Health Effects and Composition of Toluene-Derived Secondary Organic Aerosols Formed With and Without Sulfur Dioxide.”  Co-authored by EPRI’s Eladio Knipping and Annette Rohr, this poster presented the initial findings from the Secondary Particulate Health Effects Research (SPHERES) program.  Inhalation exposure of rodents to toluene-derived secondary organic aerosol revealed no increase in pulmonary inflammation, while some other toxicity endpoints indicated injury.
• Yager, J.W., et al. “Genomic changes in human primary uroepithelial cells following exposures to arsenite and its metabolites.”  Co-authored by former EPRI manager Janice Yager, the poster described a study to look at specific toxicological aspects of the dose-response relationship for the carcinogenicity of inorganic arsenic.  Gene alterations were found with higher-concentration arsenic treatments, and the number of genes altered increased with increasing arsenic concentrations.  This finding indicates that the genomic response is different at low doses as compared to high doses, an important property when modeling arsenic exposure.

For more information, contact Annette Rohr, (650) 855-2297, arohr@epri.com; Eladio Knipping, (202) 293-6393, eknippin@epri.com; or Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com.