Gram, TE; Okine, LK; Gram, RA
This review of the metabolism of xenobiotics by certain extrahepatic organs, and its relation to toxicity, focused on whether organ specific toxicity has a metabolic basis, why it is selective, and possible biochemical mechanisms which account for the selective toxicity. A discussion of the respiratory tract included the level of the respiratory tree (nasal epithelium, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, and vascular endothelium), pulmonary toxicity of oxygen, toxicity of paraquat (4685147) and other agents that generate reactive oxygen radicals, and pulmonary toxicity of covalently bound xenobiotics. The following compounds that cause nephrotoxicity were discussed: chloroform (67663), hexachloro-1,3-butadiene (87683), cephaloridine (50599), bromobenzene (108861), and acetaminophen (103902). Testicular toxicity was considered for 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (96128) and benzo(a)pyrene (50328). The ovarian toxicity of benzo(a)pyrene and cyclophosphamide (50180) was also discussed. Benzene (71432) affects bone marrow. Biochemical mechanisms are generally unknown, partly due to the difficulty of determining cell death in biochemical terms.