Subchronic Exposure to Ellagic Acid Impairs Cytotoxic T-Cell Function and Suppresses Humoral Immunity in Mice

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allen CT ; EuDaly J ; Keil DE ; Peden-Adams MM
• Description:
  Ellagic acid (EA) is present in a variety of foods such as grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and nuts. It is a dietary plant phenol that has been shown to inhibit oxidative stress and chemical carcinogenesis. Although several studies have examined the protective mechanisms of dietary EA including the induction of detoxifying enzymes, regulation of cell cycle, chelation of nickel, and prevention of DNA methylation, none have addressed the role of EA in immunological surveillance. This study investigates the status of immune function in B6C3F1 mice exposed continuously to EA in drinking water at 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg/kg/day for 28 days. Although this range of exposure is above the estimated human daily intake (is approximately equal to 940 µg/day for 70 kg person or 13.4 µg/kg/day), these levels would not be unreasonable if EA were used as a dietary supplement or as a chemotherapeutic agent. Previous reports have demonstrated the anticarcinogenic effects of EA at levels 10- to 250-fold greater than those applied in this study. Immunological parameters assessed included natural killer (NK) cell activity, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, IgM antibody plaque forming cell (PFC) response, thymus, spleen, kidney, and liver mass, and total cellularity for the thymus and spleen. Subchronic exposure to EA for 28 days in drinking water caused significant suppression of specific IgM antibody responses in the 2.0 mg/kg EA treatment group and suppressed cytotoxic T-cell function in the 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg EA treatment groups. All other immunological parameters were within normal ranges. Kidney and liver mass were not altered after treatment with EA. The results from this study indicate that EA suppressed both IgM antibody responses and CTLs. These observations suggest important implications on human health should EA be prescribed as a chemotherapeutic agent or a preventative dietary supplement for cancer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Antibodies Carcinogens Diet Environmental Monitoring Immune System Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Animal-studies Antibody-response Author Keywords: Ellagic Acid Carcinogenesis Chemotherapy Dietary-effects Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Foodstuff Immune-system Immunochemistry Immunoglobulins Immunological-tests Immunological Function Pharmacology Phenolic-acids Polyphenol

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• ISSN:
  0892-3973
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; South Carolina ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  409-422
• Volume:
  25
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024030
• Citation:
  Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol 2003 Oct; 25(3):409-422
• Contact Point Address:
  National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Agriculture and Immunotoxicology Group, MS-L1119, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505-2888, USA
• Email:
  dkeil@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2b08df7ecd11cf9c94a52dee565860375d547e0ea4de003bf50883ab9ecf2da300090692d057a8b8fbee9585578fa2f9100817180f31e0adc060c83c00e42d60
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196046/cdc_196046_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 359.21 KB ]