You are here:
The Environment-Immune Route to Chronic Disease
Citation:
Dietert, R. R. AND R. W. LUEBKE. The Environment-Immune Route to Chronic Disease. Chapter 2, R. Dietert and R. Luebke (ed.), Immunotoxicity, Immune Dysfunction and Chronic Disease. Springer, New York, NY, Part 1:31-47, (2012).
Impact/Purpose:
Specific environmental factors including chemicals, drugs, microbes and both physical and psychological factors can affect the immune system producing dysfunction and, ultimately, an increased risk of chronic disease. Several different types of immune alterations can result from environmentally-induced immunotoxicity, and these connect immune insult to chronic disease. We illustrate how many immune-based chronic diseases arising in non-lymphoid tissues may be categorized based on the target tissue (e.g., skin, lung) rather than on the probable cause: a dysfunctional immune system. Finally, we discuss various factors that affect: I) susceptibility to immunotoxicity and 2) the specific spectrum of isease outcomes following exposure
Description:
Specific environmental factors including chemicals, drugs, microbes and both physical and psychological factors can affect the immune system producing dysfunction and, ultimately, an increased risk ofchronic disease. Several different types of immune alterations can result from environmentally-induced immunotoxicity, and these connect immune insult to chronic disease. We illustrate how many immune-based chronic diseases arising in non-lymphoid tissues may be categorized based on the target tissue (e.g., skin, lung) rather than on the probable cause: a dysfunctional immune system. Finally, we discuss various factors that affect: 1) susceptibility to immunotoxicity and 2) the specific spectrum of disease outcomes following exposure.
