Long-term immunotoxic effects of combined prenatal and neonatal atrazine exposure in BALB/C mice

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barnett JB ; Brundage K ; Holaskova I ; Lukomska E ; Schafer R
• Description:
  Atrazine & its metabolites are present at high levels in a high percentage of water supplies in agro-intensive areas. Given that humans in these areas use water from these contaminated sources, we investigated the long-term effects of prenatal & neonatal exposure to atrazine on the immune system. To determine these effects, pregnant Balb/C dams were exposed to 700 g atrazine per day from day 10 postcoitus to day 10 postpartum. All offspring were allowed to nurse their natural mother & were weaned at 25 days of age. Offspring were randomly segregated by sex & exposure & aged to approximately 1 year of age at which time their spleens were removed for analysis. Phenotypic analysis was performed using flow cytometry & cytokine production was measured by cytometric bead array after anti- CD3/anti-CD28 stimulation of the spleen cells. The spleen cells were stained to determine total T cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, B cells, granulocytes, macrophages, NK cells, nTreg & LAG-3+-Treg cells. Cytokines measured include interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-6, interferon- , tumor necrosis factor- , IL-17A, IL-10 & TGF- 1 which measures the functional ability of the cells to respond to stimulation as well as allows for further classification of the T cells into TH1, TH2, TH17 cells. One year old female offspring had significant decreases in the percentage of CD8+ T cells & significant increases in granulocytes & NK cells. There was a trend (same type of change; 1 of 2 runs significant) towards an increase in LAG-3+ Treg cells. Male offspring showed significant decreases in the percentage of CD8+ T cells & significant increases in CD4+ as well as a trend towards a significant increase in NK cells. This is the first time the long term changes in immune cell phenotype have been documented after a prenatal & neonatal exposure to atrazine & it demonstrates that these early life exposures can result in permanent changes to the immune system. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Immune System Laboratories Occupational Health Safety Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Animal-studies Immune-system-disorders Immunologic-disorders Immunotoxins Laboratory-animals Reproductive-effects
• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  120
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040265
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2011 Mar; 120(Suppl 2):143
• CAS Registry Number:
  Atrazine (CAS RN 1912-24-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 50th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 6-10, 2011, Washington, DC
• Supplement:
  2
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:091c8829ba88b1e5ecb71a77c8a382591929921d629b8780f59c21c2299268c9befecbc6f7ff38d8810921097f62a755437b22cc3445e2a80351e13fc7b2b9c2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193204/cdc_193204_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 59.04 KB ]