Developmental exposure to environmental toxicants may induce immune system alterations that contribute to adult stage autoimmune disease. We have shown that continuous exposure of MRL+/+ mice to trichloroethylene (TCE) from gestational day (GD) 0 to postnatal day (PND) 49 alters several aspects of CD4(+) T cell function. This window of exposure corresponds to conception-adolescence/young adulth...

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in human plasma and is widely used at high doses for treating various diseases. Recombinant HSA is an alternative approach to plasma-derived HSA, providing increased safety and an unlimited supply. However, the safety of the residual host cell proteins (HCPs) co-purified with Oryza sativa HSA (OsrHSA) remains to be determined. An animal sys...

Vaccine safety is a topic of concern for the treated individual, the family, the health care personnel, and the others involved in vaccination programs as recipients or providers. Adjuvants are necessary components to warrant the efficacy of vaccines, however the overstimulation of the immune system is also associated with adverse effects. Local reactions are the most frequent manifestation of ...

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are widely used throughout the world as insecticides in agriculture and as eradicating agents for termites around homes. The main toxicity of OPs is neurotoxicity, which is caused by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. OPs also affect the immune response, including effects on antibody production, interleukin-2 production, T cell proliferation, decrease of C...

A large number of chemicals induce or exacerbate autoimmune-like diseases in man. Because of the complexity of processes involved, these adverse effects are often if not always missed in standard toxicity testing. To date no validated and generally applicable predictive animal model exists and only a few chemicals have actually been shown to induce adverse autoimmune effects in certain animals....

Soils from the Yorktown Naval Base contaminated with trinitrotoluene (TNT) and other explosives were used to prepare eluates before and after bioremediation using microbial growth amendments in the presence (P1 eluates) or absence (P2 eluates) of exogenous white rot fungus. Effectiveness of bioremediation was examined by several immunotoxicity assays-viability/growth of lymphocytes, cytokine pr...

We have shown previously that chronic (32 weeks) exposure to occupationally relevant concentrations of the environmental pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE) induced autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in autoimmune-prone MRL+/+ mice. In real-life, individuals are never exposed to only one chemical such as TCE. However, very little is known about the effects of chemical mixtures on the immune system. The c...

Nanotechnology, the engineering of func­ tional materials at an atomic or molecular scale, has been among the fastest growing fields of science and technology. Worldwide sales of products incorporating nanotechnolo­ gy are projected to total $2.6 trillion by 2014, according to a 2004 report from Lux Research titled Sizing Nanotechnology’s Value Chain. But with the increasing use of nano materia...