A plasticizer released from IV drip chambers elevates calcium levels in neurosecretory terminals
Student Authors
Keith TullyAcademic Program
NeuroscienceUMass Chan Affiliations
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience ProgramTreistman Lab
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2000-10-24Keywords
Animals; Calcium; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Diethylhexyl Phthalate; *Drug Packaging; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Male; Neurosecretory Systems; PC12 Cells; Pituitary Gland, Posterior; Plasticizers; Presynaptic Terminals; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Tumor Cells, CulturedNeurosciences
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
We report that intracellular calcium levels rise in mammalian neurosecretory terminals and in cultured pheochromocytoma cells during acute exposure to physiological medium incubated in IV drip chambers. The agent responsible for this effect is shown to be di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). DEHP (800 nM) added to saline solution caused a rise in [Ca(2+)](i) similar to that elicited by the contaminant-containing solution. The extraction of this contaminant from the IV drip chamber, as measured by spectrophotometry, was time-dependent and was markedly accelerated by the presence of 50 mM ethanol in the solution. Larger [Ca(2+)](i) increases were observed in terminals exposed to solutions incubated in IV drip chambers for greater durations. The rise in calcium requires transmembrane calcium flux through membrane channels, as the response is blocked by either 100 microM cadmium or by lowering the extracellular free Ca(2+) concentration to 10 microM. Our results suggest that acute alterations in intracellular calcium should be considered in addition to long-term effects when determining the safety of phthalate-containing plastics and that laboratory researchers using plastic perfusion materials consider this potential source of artifactual results.Source
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2000 Nov 1;168(3):183-8. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1006/taap.2000.9036Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/32707PubMed ID
11042090Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1006/taap.2000.9036