Effects of Exercise Following Exposure to Perfluoroisobutylene

Abstract

Perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) is a toxic chemical encountered in industry as a pyrolysis product of tetrafluoroethylene polymers, such as Teflon. Inhalation of toxic doses of PFIB results in varying degrees of pulmonary edema. The purpose of this study was to determine if exhaustive exercise would potentiate the toxic effects of PFIB. One group of treadmill-acclimated rats was exercised to exhaustion following a lhnin whole-body exposure to PFIB (approximately 0.75 × LCt50). A second group was similarly exposed but not exercised. Two other groups of rats were sham exposed; one was exercised while one remained sedentary following the sham exposure. Twenty-four hours after exposure, the animals were sacrificed; the lungs were removed and weighed, and a portion was collected for histopathologic examination. The remaining lung tissue was allowed to dry to constant weight. There was a significant increase in the amount of pulmonary edema and associated pulmonary pathology in rats exercised following exposure to PFIB. Exposure to this concentration of PFIB caused no decrement in immediate postexposure endurance. The degree of pulmonary pathology in all rats exposed to PFIB was profound.