Acute effects of cadmium on delayed-type hypersensitivity in mice.
A single exposure of mice to cadmium resulted in suppression of the induction of primary delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses as well as memory T-cell and suppressor T-cell activities, augmenting and inhibiting DTH respectively. Furthermore, cadmium suppressed the expression of already established DTH, in immune mice, even though DTH-effector T cells in the spleen of immune mice were not affected by cadmium injection. Such suppressive effects were demonstrated when cadmium was administered within 2 days before immunization or elicitation for DTH. Cadmium caused also within 2 days in mice thymic involution and splenomegaly. These results indicate that cadmium inhibits not only the generation of certain populations of T lymphocytes for DTH but also some mechanisms in the host involved in the expression of DTH.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002105:Cadmium Poisoning / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010047:Ovalbumin; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects
D010047:Ovalbumin