Biomaterial Database

Effects of methyl mercury exposure on spleen and blood natural killer (NK) cell activity in the mouse. 1991

N G Ilbäck

Toxicology Laboratory, National Food Administration, Uppsala, Sweden.

The effect of 12 weeks of exposure to methyl mercury (MeHg) (3.9 micrograms/g diet) on the immune function was studied in female Balb/c mice. This MeHg dose did not affect body, kidney, liver or spleen weight. Thymus weight and cell number decreased by 22% (P less than 0.05) and 50% (P less than 0.001), respectively. The lymphoproliferative response to T and B cell mitogens, however, tended to increase in both lymphoid organs. Natural killer cell activity was reduced by 44% (P less than 0.01) and 75% (P less than 0.05) in the spleen and blood, respectively. The number of red blood cells increased slightly (12%, P less than 0.05), whereas white blood cell counts were unaffected. These results indicate that MeHg evokes immune suppressive effects on protective cytotoxic capacity that is of major importance in the pathogenesis of several diseases.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007111	Immunity, Cellular	Manifestations of the immune response which are mediated by antigen-sensitized T-lymphocytes via lymphokines or direct cytotoxicity. This takes place in the absence of circulating antibody or where antibody plays a subordinate role.	Cell-Mediated Immunity,Cellular Immune Response,Cell Mediated Immunity,Cell-Mediated Immunities,Cellular Immune Responses,Cellular Immunities,Cellular Immunity,Immune Response, Cellular,Immune Responses, Cellular,Immunities, Cell-Mediated,Immunities, Cellular,Immunity, Cell-Mediated,Response, Cellular Immune
D007668	Kidney	Body organ that filters blood for the secretion of URINE and that regulates ion concentrations.	Kidneys
D007694	Killer Cells, Natural	Bone marrow-derived lymphocytes that possess cytotoxic properties, classically directed against transformed and virus-infected cells. Unlike T CELLS; and B CELLS; NK CELLS are not antigen specific. The cytotoxicity of natural killer cells is determined by the collective signaling of an array of inhibitory and stimulatory CELL SURFACE RECEPTORS. A subset of T-LYMPHOCYTES referred to as NATURAL KILLER T CELLS shares some of the properties of this cell type.	NK Cells,Natural Killer Cells,Cell, NK,Cell, Natural Killer,Cells, NK,Cells, Natural Killer,Killer Cell, Natural,NK Cell,Natural Killer Cell
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D008213	Lymphocyte Activation	Morphologic alteration of small B LYMPHOCYTES or T LYMPHOCYTES in culture into large blast-like cells able to synthesize DNA and RNA and to divide mitotically. It is induced by INTERLEUKINS; MITOGENS such as PHYTOHEMAGGLUTININS, and by specific ANTIGENS. It may also occur in vivo as in GRAFT REJECTION.	Blast Transformation,Blastogenesis,Lymphoblast Transformation,Lymphocyte Stimulation,Lymphocyte Transformation,Transformation, Blast,Transformation, Lymphoblast,Transformation, Lymphocyte,Activation, Lymphocyte,Stimulation, Lymphocyte
D008767	Methylmercury Compounds	Organic compounds in which mercury is attached to a methyl group.	Methyl Mercury Compounds,Compounds, Methyl Mercury,Compounds, Methylmercury,Mercury Compounds, Methyl
D008807	Mice, Inbred BALB C	An inbred strain of mouse that is widely used in IMMUNOLOGY studies and cancer research.	BALB C Mice, Inbred,BALB C Mouse, Inbred,Inbred BALB C Mice,Inbred BALB C Mouse,Mice, BALB C,Mouse, BALB C,Mouse, Inbred BALB C,BALB C Mice,BALB C Mouse
D009929	Organ Size	The measurement of an organ in volume, mass, or heaviness.	Organ Volume,Organ Weight,Size, Organ,Weight, Organ
D004305	Dose-Response Relationship, Drug	The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug.	Dose Response Relationship, Drug,Dose-Response Relationships, Drug,Drug Dose-Response Relationship,Drug Dose-Response Relationships,Relationship, Drug Dose-Response,Relationships, Drug Dose-Response
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia