Trace element interactions affecting pulmonary macrophage cytotoxicity

Effluents from the smokestacks of powerplants contain respirable particles that are enriched with a variety of biologically active trace elements. To determine the relative toxicity of trace elements in coal fly ash, the effects of selected compounds, alone and in combination, were evaluated in cultures of pulmonary alveolar macrophages. The inorganic compounds studied were ZnO, Na2SeO3, V2O5, NaAsO2, Mn3O4, and Ni3S2. Vanadium pentoxide was the most cytotoxic compound while selenium was the least toxic (approximately 100-fold less toxic than vanadium). After dose-response curves for each element were established, interactions between various compounds were studied by coexposure to trace elements at different concentrations. Selenium was completely antagonistic to the toxic effects of vanadium and slightly antagonistic to arsenic. In contrast to selenite, sulfite, a moiety with a similar redox potential, was not antagonistic to vanadium toxicity. Zinc was weakly antagonistic to the in vitro effects of nickel. No other chemical combinations displayed antagonistic, synergistic or additive effects on the function of the cultured macrophages.