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EVALUATION OF THE IMMUNOTOXICITY OF LOW LEVEL PCB EXPOSURE IN THE RAT
Citation:
Smialowicz, R. AND e. al. EVALUATION OF THE IMMUNOTOXICITY OF LOW LEVEL PCB EXPOSURE IN THE RAT. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/236 (NTIS PB90143066), 1989.
Description:
Weanling male Fischer 344 rats were exposed daily by gastric intubation for up to 15 weeks to the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclor 1254 at 0.1, 1, 10, or 25 mg/kg body weight. t 5, 10 and 15 weeks groups of Tats were killed and immune functions were evaluated. he immune parameters examined included the following: body and lymphoid organ weights, mitogen stimulated lymphoproliferative (LP) responses, natural killer (NK) cell activity, mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. fter 10 and 15 weeks of dosing body weights were reduced in rats receiving 25 mg/kg PCB while thymus weights were decreased in rats receiving 10 and 25 mg/kg. K cell activity was reduced in rats dosed for 15 weeks at 10 and 25 mg/kg. The LP response to phytohemagglutinin was enhanced in rats dosed for 15 weeks at 25 mg/kg PCB. xposure of rats to PCB did not affect the MLR or CTL responses. Other groups of rats were exposed to cyclophosphamide (CY) and served as positive controls for the immune assays employed. Y induced alterations in all of the immune parameters measured, indicating that this is a sensitive battery of immune function tests which is capable of detecting immune alterations in the rat. lterations in immune function induced by exposure to PCB were accompanied by reductions in body weight. hese results suggest that the immunotoxicity of this PCB may be a result of its overt toxicity in the rat.