Toxic consequences and oxidative protein carbonylation from chloropicrin exposure in human corneal epithelial cells

Chloropicrin (CP), a warfare agent now majorly used as a soil pesticide, is a strong irritating and lacrimating compound with devastating toxic effects. To elucidate the mechanism of its ocular toxicity, toxic effects of CP (0–100 μM) were studied in primary human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells. CP exposure resulted in reduced HCE cell viability and increased apoptotic cell death with an up-regulation of cleaved caspase-3 and poly ADP ribose...