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Updated: May 28, 2026

An Air-liquid Interface Bronchial Epithelial Model for Realistic, Repeated Inhalation Exposure to Airborne Particles for Toxicity Testing
Published on: May 13, 2020
Immunotoxicity of 3 chemical forms of beryllium following inhalation exposure
Caroline Muller1, Fariba Salehi, Bruce Mazer
1Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract:
The toxicity of 3 chemical forms of beryllium (Be) was compared in this study. A total of 160 mice equally divided into 4 groups were exposed by inhalation (nose only) for 3 consecutive weeks, 5 d/week, 6 h/d. One group was used as control, while the 3 others were exposed to fine particles of Be metal, Be oxide (BeO), or Be aluminum (BeAl). Except for the controls, the target level of exposure was 250 μg/m(3). In all, 35 mice/group were sacrificed 1 week postexposure and another 5 mice 3 weeks postexposure. The BeO group showed the highest lung Be concentration with higher interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) levels, while the Be group produced the most severe lung inflammation and higher tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and CD4+ T cells levels. Data suggested that Be and BeO apparently produced more pulmonary toxicity than BeAl. However, this conclusion is not definitive, because of different confounding factors such as particle sizes, specific surface area, and solubility.
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