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

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Key Words; organochlorine insecticides; poly; Arctic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.612.4508; http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/77/1/41.full.pdf

Few studies have characterized the immunotoxic potential of complex mixtures of organochlorines (OCs) that bear environmen-tal 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. Prepubertal sows were adminis-tered orally either corn oil (control group) or the OC mixture in increasing doses (low, medium, and high). The sows were insem-inated with the semen from an untreated boar and OC treatment was continued throughout gestation and lactation (21 days). Blood was collected from the sows at delivery and monthly from piglets until 8 months of age for the determination of plasma OC con-centrations and parameters of innate, cellular, and humoral im-munity. Treatment with the OC mixture had no dose-dependent effect on the proportion of CD4 and CD8 T-cell subsets, and