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Renee Michelle Gardner, Jennifer F Nyland, Sean Evans, Ellen K Silbergeld, In Vitro Human Immune Response to Low Dose Mercury (89.11), The Journal of Immunology, Volume 178, Issue 1_Supplement, April 2007, Page S150, https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.178.Supp.89.11
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Abstract
There is growing recognition that exposures to both inorganic and organic mercury (Hg) compounds can affect immune function, with potential consequences for host resistance to infections and risks of autoimmune disease. However, there is little information on human responses to low level Hg exposures. For this reason, we are investigating immune function using in vitro exposures to Hg in primary cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy adult volunteers. PBMCs were exposed to a concentration of HgCl2 up to 200 nM (which roughly corresponds to a whole blood concentration at the upper range of occupationally exposed or fish eating populations), in the presence and absence of activation by LPS. We found that these concentrations are non-cytotoxic and do not affect cell subsets or markers of cell activation. However, in PBMCs from both males and females, dose-dependent increases in both TNFα and IL-6 were observed in cell culture supernatants in the presence of LPS. No changes were observed in IFNγ, IL-4, IL-5, or IL-13 levels. No changes were seen in any cytokine in the absence of LPS. The results indicate that Hg can exert significant effects on signal transduction pathways in human cells in vitro, at exposures that are non-cytotoxic and environmentally relevant.
