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THE COMPARATIVE IMMUNOTOXICITY OF FIVE SELCTED COMPOUNDS FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTAL OR ADULT EXPOSURE
Citation:
Luebke, R W., D. Chen, R. R. Dietert, Y. Yang, M. King, AND M. I. Luster. THE COMPARATIVE IMMUNOTOXICITY OF FIVE SELCTED COMPOUNDS FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTAL OR ADULT EXPOSURE. JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - PART B: CRITICAL REVIEWS. Taylor & Francis, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, 9(1):1-26, (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
To provide an overview of immune maturation in humans in order to demonstrate that functional immaturity alone predisposes the young to infection
Description:
It is well established that human diseases associated with abnormal immune function, including some common infectious diseases and asthma, are considerably more prevalent at younger ages. Although not established absolutely, it is generally believed that development constitutes a period of increased immune system susceptibility to xenobiotics, since adverse effects may occur at lower doses an/or immunomodulation may be more persistent, thus increasing the relative risk of xenobiotic exposure to the immunologically immature organism. To address this issue, a brief overview of immune maturation in humans is provided to demonstrate that functional immaturity alone predisposes the young to infection. Age-dependent differences in the immunotoxic effects of five diverse compounds (diethylstilbestrol (DES), diazepam (DZP), lead (Pb), 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and tributyltin oxide (TBTO)), which have undergone adult and developmental rodent immunotoxicity testing in rodents, are then reviewed, as are human data when available. For all five chemicals, the developing immune system was found to be at greater risk than that of the adult, either because lower doses caused immunotoxicity, adverse effects were more persistent, or both.