A mechanism for the development of Clara cell lesions in the mouse lung after exposure to trichloroethylene.

Female CD-1 mice exposed to trichloroethylene (6 h/day) at concentrations from 20-2000 ppm developed a highly specific lung lesion after a single exposure, characterised by vacuolation of the Clara cells, the number of cells affected increasing with increasing dose level. At the highest dose levels pyknosis of the Clara cells was apparent. After 5 days of repeated exposures the lesion had resolved but exposure of mice following a 2-day break resulted in recurrence of the lesion. The changes in mouse lung Clara cells were accompanied by a marked loss of cytochrome P-450 activities. No morphological changes were seen in the lungs of rats exposed to either 500 or 1000 ppm trichloroethylene. Isolated mouse lung Clara cells were shown to metabolize trichloroethylene to chloral, trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid. Chloral was the major metabolite. Trichloroethanol glucuronide was not detected. In comparative experiments using mouse hepatocytes the major metabolites were trichloroethanol and its glucuronide conjugate. The activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase was compared in mouse lung Clara cells and hepatocytes using two phenolic substrates and trichloroethanol. Hepatocytes readily formed glucuronides from all three substrates whereas Clara cells were only active with the two phenolic substrates. The three major metabolites of trichloroethylene, chloral, trichloroethanol and trichloroacetic acid were each dosed to mice and of these metabolites, only chloral had an effect on mouse lung causing a lesion (Clara cell) identical to that seen with trichloroethylene. It is proposed that the failure of Clara cells to conjugate trichloroethanol leads to an accumulation of chloral which results in cytotoxicity. The known genotoxicity of chloral suggests that this lesion may be related to the development of lung tumours in mice exposed to trichloroethylene by inhalation.