Abstract
Summary
To investigate the effect of a papain-induced emphysema-like condition on pulmonary absorption of drugs, rats were exposed to either papain aerosol or distilled water aerosol (control) intermittently for 2 wk, and rates of drug absorption from damaged and control lungs were compared. To measure absorption rates, 0.1 ml of drug solution (0.1-10 mM) was administered through a tracheal cannula to anesthetized animals, and after various times lungs were assayed for unabsorbed compound. In absorption experiments with the lipoid-insoluble compounds, mannitol, p-aminohippuric acid, and procaine amide ethobromide, all three drugs were absorbed from the lungs about twice as rapidly in papain-treated rats as in control. In contrast, procaine amide, a relatively lipoid-soluble drug, was absorbed at the same rate in both control and papain-treated animals. The results suggest that papain-induced lung damage increases the porosity of the pulmonary epithelium.
The authors are indebted to Mrs. Jean C. Henderson for her excellent technical assistance. Appreciation is also extended to Dr. Charles Dunlap and Mrs. Viola Flanagan, Pathology Dept., University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, Missouri, for the preparation of histologic material.
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