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ToxSci Advance Access published online on September 26, 2003
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfg240
Toxicological Sciences © Society of Toxicology 2003; all rights reserved
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Received June 20, 2003; accepted September 5, 2003
© 2003 Society of Toxicology

Immunotoxicology

Effects of Gestational and Lactational Exposure to Organochlorine Compounds on Cellular, Humoral and Innate Immunity in Swine

Houda Bilrha 1, Raynald Roy 1, Éric Wagner 2, Marthe Belles-Isles 1, Janice L. Bailey 3, and Pierre Ayotte 4*

1 Unité de recherche en Rhumatologie et Immunologie, Centre de Recherche du CHUL-CHUQ, Québec, QC, Canada G1V 4G2
2 Division d'Hématologie-Oncologie, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada H3T 1C5
3 Centre de Recherche en Biologie de la Reproduction, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada G1K 7P4
4 Unité de Recherche en Santé Publique, Centre de Recherche du CHUL-CHUQ, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada G1V 5B3

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pierre.ayotte{at}inspq.qc.ca.


  Abstract

Few studies have characterized the immunotoxic potential of complex mixtures of organochlorines (OCs) that bear environmental relevance. We monitored immune parameters in male piglets exposed in utero and through lactation to an OC mixture which was designed to approximate that found in the traditional diet of Arctic aboriginal populations. Pre-pubertal sows were administered orally either corn oil (control group) or the OC mixture in increasing doses (low, medium and high). Sows were inseminated with the semen from an untreated boar and OC treatment was continued throughout gestation and lactation (21 days). Blood was collected from sows at delivery and monthly from piglets until 8 months of age for the determination of plasma OC concentrations and parameters of innate, cellular and humoral immunity. Treatment with the OC mixture had no dose-dependent effect on the proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets and did not modulate the functional activity of the complement component C2. The proportion of CD4+CD8+ cells, CD8+DR+ cells and the mitogenic lymphoproliferative response increased in OC-treated, 4-month-old piglets. At six months, the lymphoproliferative response to mitogen and the proportion CD4+CD8+ cells were still elevated in OC-treated piglets, but the proportion of CD8+DR+ cells was decreased as compared to controls. Animals in the high dose group also exhibited a slight increase in polymorphonuclear leukocyte phagocytic activity at 8 months of age. Furthermore, the high dose decreased antibody response to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Our results indicate that developmental exposure to an environmentally-relevant OC mixture alters immune function in swine.

Key Words: Organochlorine insecticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, immune system, swine, prenatal exposure .


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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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