Novel Treatments of Acrolein-induced Cardiotoxicity

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this project is to develop new and improved countermeasures and therapeutics for preventing human mortality and morbidity associated with chemical threats. Such threats might be imposed by a terrorist attack, accidental leakage of chemicals used in industrial production, or those released during natural disasters and fires. The most common and abundant reactive chemicals, relevant to all these situations are reactive carbonyl compounds (RCCs). A prototypical member of this class is acrolein. Acrolein and related RCCs are the most abundant and toxic constituents generated in lethal amounts (600 ppm) during forest and structural fires. Profound respiratory and cardiovascular effects of exogenous and endogenous RCCs have also been described; however, neither the toxicological effects of RCCs nor their mechanisms of toxicity have been systematically delineated. Similarly, the specific vulnerability of young, old and women to RCC exposure has not been assessed. Most importantly, no effective countermeasures or therapeutic interventions are currently available. Possible therapeutic interventions include treatment with inhibitors of RCC receptors known as transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. These antagonists including TRPV1 and TRPA1 inhibitors hold promise to diminish the pain and inflammation in the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems associated with high dose exposure to RCC. Evaluation of mitigation therapies following high level RCC exposure will provide the first step in judging their relative efficacy for use in the case of a chemical emergency threat in humans.