The immunotoxicity of selected environmental chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals

Abstract

It is an established fact that certain environmental chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals can alter the immune response of laboratory animals and probably humans as well. In some instances, the immune system appears to be exquisitely sensitive to these agents compared to other toxicologic parameters. Both stimulation and suppression of immune responses have demonstrated in contaminant-exposed animals. Although the majority of data accumulated to date pertains to effects in small laboratory rodents, there is little reason to believe that similar quantifiable effects do not occur in domestic and food-producing animals due to basic functional similarities of the immune system of mammals in general.