The Negative Impact of Combining Retinoic Acid (ATRA) and Mold Spores on F344 Rat Lung and Improvement of Tissue Pathology by Citral.

The impact of retinoic acid (All Trans Retinoic Acid; ATRA) and Mold spores (MLD) in the development of lung pathology and in vivo tissue remodeling have not been well established in the literature. In addition, the role of citral (inhibitor of retinoid function) in the improvement of lung pathology has not been ascertained in animal studies. Therefore, it is hypothesized that ATRA and Mold (MLD) exposure will sensitize lung tissues leading to lung tissue pathology and that Citrals (C1 and C2) will reverse, ameliorate or improve the associated pathological damage to lung tissues. The study used an IACUC approved between-subject in vivo randomized split plot factorial design (F344 rat model; N=40). Animals were exposed to eight different treatments including vehicle, MLD, ATRA, Citrals (C1 and C2) and their MLD combinations (MLD+ ATRA, MLD+ C1, and MLD+ C2) by intra-peritoneal route. Rat weight and blood data were collected on Days 1 and 21, all animals were sacrificed on day 21, and lung tissues were processed for histopathology. Results from weight and blood data (ANOVA and Duncan) as well as from histopathological analyses supported the findings that exposure of F344 rats to MLD combinations with ATRA and Citrals showed various levels of lung tissue damage that were impacted by either C1 or C2. This promising study showed impressive responses on the interaction of MLD, Citrals, and ATRA as related to their impact on associated lung tissue pathologies.