The in vitro cytotoxicity and electrophysiological toxicity of Jet Propulsi
on-8 (JP-8 jet fuel) on four cell types: H41IE liver cell line, NIH Swiss 3
T3 cell line, neuroblastoma x glioma NG108-15 cells, and embryonic hippocam
pal neurons were investigated. H4IIE cells exposed to Jet A (a commercial f
uel) and JP-8 demonstrated identical toxicity with an IC50 of 12.6 +/- 0.4
mu g/ml for the two fuels. Comparison of H4IIE and NIH/3T3 toxicity to JP-8
revealed that NIH/3T3 cells were more sensitive to JP-8 than H4IIE cells,
with an IC50 8.5 +/- 0.1 mu g/ml. JP-8 exposure for the hippocampal neurons
proved to be highly toxic (IC50 of < 2 mu g/ml), while in contrast, the NG
108-15 cells were much less sensitive. Electrophysiological examination of
NG108-15 cells showed that administration of JP-8 at 1 mu g/ml did not alte
r significantly any of the electrophysiological properties. However, exposu
re to JP-8 at 10 mu g/ml during a current stimulus of +46 pA decreased the
amplitude of the action potential to 83 +/- 7% (n = 4), the rate of rise, d
V/dt(MAX) to 50 +/- 8% (n = 4), and the spiking rate to 35 +/- 11% (n = 4)
of the corresponding control levels. These results demonstrate JP-8 induced
cytotoxic varies among cell types. The possible mechanisms underlying thes
e observations are presented.