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Biologic Markers in Pulmonary Toxicology (1989) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
Pages 11-16

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From page 11...
... For example, liver and kidney diseases are often diagnosed by measuring enzymes in blood or proteins in urine; lead poisoning can be diagnosed on the basis of blood lead concentrations and such biologic changes as increases in heme biosynthesis components in red cells and urine; and many inborn errors of metabolism, such as phenylketonuria, are diagnosed on the basis of cell biochemical findings, rather than expressed dysfunctions. The identification, validation, and use of markers in medicine and
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From page 12...
... Clinical medicine uses markers to allow earlier detection and treatment of disease; epidemiology uses markers as indicators of exposure, internal dose, or health effects; toxicology uses markers to help determine underlying mechanisms of diseases, develop better estimates of dose-response relationships, and improve the technical bases for assessing risks at lower levels of exposure. TYPES OF BIOLOGIC MARKERS The Biologic Markers Committee has defined the following concepts related to biologic markers.
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From page 13...
... An intrinsic genetic or other characteristic or a pre-existing disease that results in an increase in the absorbed dose, the biologically effective dose, or the target-tissue response after an exposure can be a marker of increased susceptibility. Such markers include inborn differences in metabolism, variations in immunoglobulin concentrations, low organs reserve capacity, and other identifiable genetically determined or environmentally induced variations in 13 absorption, metabolism, and response to environmental agents.
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From page 14...
... A comparison of this information with markers of chronic effects resulting from long-term exposure of animals to the same pollutant could lead to the development of markers that are more predictive of health effects in chronically exposed humans (McClellan, 1986~. Numerous instances of clinical research and animal toxicology studies have both used and provided validation of biologic MARKERS IN PULMONARY TOXICOLOGY markers.
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From page 15...
... In the same manner, it might be easy to detect an inflammatory response in the respiratory tract by analyzing bronchoalveolar-lavage fluid or nasal-ravage fluid, but without additional information it is not easy to associate inflammation with a particular environmental exposure. The following chapters discuss poten tial biologic markers of environmentally induced pulmonary disease.
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Key Terms

  • respiratory tract
  • biologic marker
  • biologically effective
  • effective dose
  • environmental exposure

  • environmentally induced
  • absorbed dose
  • potential biologic
  • inflammatory response
  • health research

  • pulmonary disease
  • respiratory function
  • particular characteristic
  • breathing patterns
  • altered breathing

  • airway constriction
  • marker indicates
  • pulmonary toxicology
  • clinical medicine
  • tial biologic

  • particu lar
  • classify biologic
  • potential usefulness
  • endogenous components
  • sensitized persons

  • body function
  • causative agent
  • concepts related
  • disease process
  • functional alteration


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