ToxSci Advance Access originally published online on July 25, 2003
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Toxicological Sciences 75, 343-354 (2003)
Copyright © 2003 by the Society of Toxicology
IMMUNOTOXICOLOGY |
Modeling and Predicting Immunological Effects of Chemical Stressors: Characterization of a Quantitative Biomarker for Immunological Changes Caused by Atrazine and Ethanol
Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71130
Previous studies demonstrate that the effects of one chemical stressor on selected immunological parameters can be predicted on the basis of the area under the corticosterone concentration vs. time curve. However, it is not clear if this is applicable to other chemical stressors. The present study was conducted to determine if the stress-induced immunological effects of atrazine and ethanol could be predicted, and if it is feasible to use one immunological parameter as a biomarker of stress to predict the quantity of changes expected in other immunological parameters. The area under the corticosterone concentration-versus-time curve (AUC) was measured in mice treated with ethanol (EtOH, 4, 5, 6, or 7 g/kg by oral gavage) or atrazine (ATZ, 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg, ip). The effects of the same dosages of these chemicals on thymus and spleen cellularity, lymphocyte subpopulations in the thymus and spleen, expression of MHC class II protein on splenocytes, antibody responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and natural killer-cell activity were determined. Models were derived describing the relationship between corticosterone AUC and immunological changes induced by these chemicals. The results for these chemical stressors were more similar to results obtained from mice subjected to restraint stress than from mice treated with exogenous corticosterone. Some effects were greater than predicted on the basis of the stress response alone, indicating other mechanisms of immunotoxicity. One of the parameters (MHC class II expression) was evaluated as a predictive biomarker for stress-related immunosuppression, and the results suggest it could be suitable for that purpose.
Key Words: stress; corticosterone; atrazine; ethanol; predictive model; biomarker.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. C. Laws, M. Hotchkiss, J. Ferrell, S. Jayaraman, L. Mills, W. Modic, N. Tinfo, M. Fraites, T. Stoker, and R. Cooper Chlorotriazine Herbicides and Metabolites Activate an ACTH-dependent Release of Corticosterone in Male Wistar Rats Toxicol. Sci., November 1, 2009; 112(1): 78 - 87. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. J. P. Fraites, R. L. Cooper, A. Buckalew, S. Jayaraman, L. Mills, and S. C. Laws Characterization of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Response to Atrazine and Metabolites in the Female Rat Toxicol. Sci., November 1, 2009; 112(1): 88 - 99. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. J. Miguez-Burbano, J. E. Lewis, J. Fishman, D. Asthana, and R. M. Malow The Influence of Different Types of Alcoholic Beverages on Disrupting Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART) Outcome Alcohol Alcohol., July 1, 2009; 44(4): 366 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. B. Pruett, R. Fan, Q. Zheng, and C. Schwab Patterns of Immunotoxicity Associated with Chronic as Compared with Acute Exposure to Chemical or Physical Stressors and their Relevance with Regard to the Role of Stress and with Regard to Immunotoxicity Testing Toxicol. Sci., June 1, 2009; 109(2): 265 - 275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. C. DeWitt, C. B. Copeland, and R. W. Luebke Suppression of Humoral Immunity by Perfluorooctanoic Acid is Independent of Elevated Serum Corticosterone Concentration in Mice Toxicol. Sci., May 1, 2009; 109(1): 106 - 112. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. K. Ross, T. L. Jones, and N. M. Filipov Disposition of the Herbicide 2-Chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (Atrazine) and Its Major Metabolites in Mice: A Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Urine, Plasma, and Tissue Levels Drug Metab. Dispos., April 1, 2009; 37(4): 776 - 786. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Giusi, R. M. Facciolo, M. Canonaco, E. Alleva, V. Belloni, F. Dessi'-Fulgheri, and D. Santucci The Endocrine Disruptor Atrazine Accounts for a Dimorphic Somatostatinergic Neuronal Expression Pattern in Mice Toxicol. Sci., January 1, 2006; 89(1): 257 - 264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Zhang and G. G. Meadows Chronic alcohol consumption in mice increases the proportion of peripheral memory T cells by homeostatic proliferation J. Leukoc. Biol., November 1, 2005; 78(5): 1070 - 1080. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. B. Pruett, Q. Zheng, C. Schwab, and R. Fan Sodium Methyldithiocarbamate Inhibits MAP Kinase Activation through Toll-like Receptor 4, Alters Cytokine Production by Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages, and Suppresses Innate Immunity Toxicol. Sci., September 1, 2005; 87(1): 75 - 85. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. M. Filipov, L. M. Pinchuk, B. L. Boyd, and P. L. Crittenden Immunotoxic Effects of Short-term Atrazine Exposure in Young Male C57BL/6 Mice Toxicol. Sci., August 1, 2005; 86(2): 324 - 332. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. L. Schwab, R. Fan, Q. Zheng, L. P. Myers, P. Hebert, and S. B. Pruett Modeling and Predicting Stress-Induced Immunosuppression in Mice Using Blood Parameters Toxicol. Sci., January 1, 2005; 83(1): 101 - 113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|