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ACCUMULATION OF DIBUTYLTIN IN HUMAN NATURAL KILLER CELLS
Citation:
WHALEN, M. M. AND R. W. LUEBKE. ACCUMULATION OF DIBUTYLTIN IN HUMAN NATURAL KILLER CELLS . Presented at American Chemical Society 233rd Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25 - 29, 2007.
Description:
NK cells are a subset of lymphocytes capable of killing tumor cells, virally infected cells and antibody coated cells. Dibutyltin dichloride (DBT) is a butyltin that has been used as a stabilizer in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and also as a deworming product in poultry. DBT has been measured in drinking water due to leaching from PVC pipes and therefore poses a potential risk to human health. Previous studies have reported that NK cells exposed to concentrations as low as 0.5 µM DBT have a diminished ability to destroy target cells. In those studies, NK cells were exposed to DBT in serum-free cell culture medium, as DBT may bind to serum albumin potentially preventing its delivery to the NK cells. In the present study, we investigated the accumulation of DBT (exposure levels of 1-10 µM) in freshly isolated NK cells under conditions of varying serum concentrations. The in vivo condition has roughly 50-60% serum. Whether, and to what extent, the presence of serum affects delivery of DBT to cells was determined. In the presence of 10 % serum the accumulation of DBT in NK cells did not appreciably decrease. Increased serum levels, up to 50%, resulted in an approximately 20% decrease in the accumulation of DBT compared to serum-free media after a 1h exposure at the 10 µM concentration. Additionally, it appears that there is an attenuation of DBT-induced suppression of NK cell cytotoxic activity in the presence of serum.