Impairment of humoral immune responses in mice exposed to nitrogen dioxide and ozone mixtures.
The relationship between immune defense mechanisms and environmental pollutants remains unknown because of uncertainty about the effects of combined or mixed pollutants. To investigate whether exposure to toxic gas mixtures change the effect of a single gas exposure on immune function, BALB/c mice were continuously exposed to 4.0 ppm nitrogen dioxide (NO2), 0.8 ppm ozone (O3), or the mixture of NO2 plus O3 for 3, 7, 14, and 56 days. Organ weights (lung, thymus, and spleen) and antibody responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), and to DNP-Ficoll were measured immediately after the exposure. Lung weights in mice exposed to O3 or the mixture were increased significantly in all exposure periods. The weights of thymus and spleen in mice exposed for 3, 7, and 14 days to the mixture were decreased. O3 exposure for 56 days showed significant decreases of the weights of both organs. Antibody response to SRBC in mice exposed for 3, 7, and 14 days to O3 or the mixture was markedly suppressed, but exposure to the mixture for 56 days did not show the suppression of anti-SRBC antibody response. No differences in anti-DNP antibody response between exposed and control mice were observed, except those exposed to O3 or the mixture for 14 days. These results suggest that mixed gas exposures variously modify the effects of a single gas exposure on antibody production in mice.