摘要
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs） are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that accumulate to high levels in human populations that are subject to occupational or regional industry exposure. PBDEs have been shown to affect human neuronal, endocrine and reproductive systems, but their effect on the immune system is not well understood. In this study, experimental adult mice were intragastrically administered 2,2＇,3,3＇,4,4＇,5,5＇,6,6＇-decabromodiphenyl ether （BDE-209） at doses of 8, 80 or 800 mg/kg of body weight （bw） at 2-day intervals. Our results showed that continuous exposure to BDE-209 resulted in high levels of BDE-209 in the plasma that approached the levels found in people who work in professions with high risks of PDBE exposure. Reduced leukocytes, decreased cytokine （IFN-7, IL-2 and TNF-a） production and lower CD8 T-cell proliferation were observed in the mice exposed to BDE-209. Additionally, mice with long-term BDE-209 exposure had lower numbers of antigen-specific CD8 T cells after immunization with recombinant Listeria monocytogenesexpressing ovalbumin （rLm-OVA） and the OVA-specific CD8 T cells had reduced functionality. Taken together, our study demonstrates that continuous BDE-209 exposure causes adverse effects on the number and functionality of immune cells in adult mice.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs） are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that accumulate to high levels in human populations that are subject to occupational or regional industry exposure. PBDEs have been shown to affect human neuronal, endocrine and reproductive systems, but their effect on the immune system is not well understood. In this study, experimental adult mice were intragastrically administered 2,2＇,3,3＇,4,4＇,5,5＇,6,6＇-decabromodiphenyl ether （BDE-209） at doses of 8, 80 or 800 mg/kg of body weight （bw） at 2-day intervals. Our results showed that continuous exposure to BDE-209 resulted in high levels of BDE-209 in the plasma that approached the levels found in people who work in professions with high risks of PDBE exposure. Reduced leukocytes, decreased cytokine （IFN-7, IL-2 and TNF-a） production and lower CD8 T-cell proliferation were observed in the mice exposed to BDE-209. Additionally, mice with long-term BDE-209 exposure had lower numbers of antigen-specific CD8 T cells after immunization with recombinant Listeria monocytogenesexpressing ovalbumin （rLm-OVA） and the OVA-specific CD8 T cells had reduced functionality. Taken together, our study demonstrates that continuous BDE-209 exposure causes adverse effects on the number and functionality of immune cells in adult mice.
基金
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Yingxin Yu （Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering,Shanghai University） for determining the BDE-209 concentration, Nining Guo and Qibing Leng （Institute Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Science） for the rLm-OVA infections and Xing Zhang （College of Public Health, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine） for breeding the animals. This work is supported by the National Basic Research Program of China （2011CB512104）, the 12th Five-Year Plan of National Science and Technology Support （2012BAK17B10） and the National Natural Science Foundation of China （81101252）.
