National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-NIOSH, 1095 Willowdale Drive, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA.
J Immunotoxicol. 2013 Jan-Mar;10(1):59-66. doi: 10.3109/1547691X.2012.691124. Epub 2012 Sep 7.
Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an industrial chemical, used as a paint and adhesive solvent, with the potential for significant increases in production. Using select immune function assays, the purpose of these studies was to evaluate the immunotoxicity of DMC following dermal exposure using a murine model. Following a 28-day exposure, DMC produced a significant decrease in thymus weight at concentrations of 75% and greater. No effects on body weight, hematological parameters (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and their differentials), or immune cell phenotyping (B-cells, T-cells, and T-cell sub-sets) were identified. The IgM antibody response to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) was significantly reduced in the spleen but not the serum. DMC was not identified to be an irritant and evaluation of the sensitization potential, conducted using the local lymph node assay (LLNA) at concentrations ranging from 50-100%, did not identify increases in lymphocyte proliferation. These results demonstrate that dermal exposure to DMC induces immune suppression in a murine model and raise concern about potential human exposure and the need for occupational exposure regulations.
碳酸二甲酯（DMC）是一种工业化学品，用作油漆和粘合剂的溶剂，其产量有可能大幅增加。本研究采用选择免疫功能测定方法，通过小鼠模型评价经皮暴露于 DMC 后的免疫毒性。在 28 天的暴露后，DMC 在浓度为 75%及以上时会导致胸腺重量显著下降。DMC 对体重、血液学参数（红细胞、白细胞及其分类）或免疫细胞表型（B 细胞、T 细胞和 T 细胞亚群）没有影响。脾中对绵羊红细胞（SRBC）的 IgM 抗体反应显著降低，但血清中没有。DMC 未被鉴定为刺激性物质，使用局部淋巴结测定法（LLNA）在 50-100%的浓度范围内进行的致敏潜力评估也没有发现淋巴细胞增殖增加。这些结果表明，DMC 经皮暴露会导致小鼠模型免疫抑制，并引起对人类潜在暴露和职业暴露法规制定的关注。
