ACUTE EFFECTS OF CADMIUM ON DELAYED-TYPE HYPERSENSITIVITY IN MICE

Abstract
A single exposure of mice to Cd resulted in suppression of the induction of primary delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses and memory T-cell and suppressor T-cell activities, augmenting and inhibiting DTH respectively. Cd suppressed the expression of already established DTH, in immune mice, even though DTH-effector T cells in the spleen of immune mice were not affected by Cd injection. Such suppressive effects were demonstrated when Cd was administered within 2 days before immunization or elicitation for DTH. Cd caused thymic involution and splenomegaly within 2 days. Cd inhibits not only the generation of certain populations of T lymphocytes for DTH but also some mechanisms in the host involved in the expression of DTH.