Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.
Cytotechnology. 2014 Oct;66(5):769-77. doi: 10.1007/s10616-013-9626-7. Epub 2013 Aug 25.
In recent years, water pollution has been converted to a challenging discussion in health area of human being. Heavy elements are one of the most important water pollutants and their negative adverse effects on body systems have been confirmed. In this study, investigation of effects of two heavy elements including lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) on expression of interlukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) as humoral and cellular immunity biomarkers, respectively, was aimed and PCR, real-time PCR and electrophoresis techniques were used. In this study, BALB/c mice were studied that had free access to drinking water which contained Cu or Pb salts. After 2 weeks, spleens of mice were removed, RNA extracted, and cDNA was prepared for RT-PCR. Then the expression of IL-4 and IFN-γ genes were assessed by real-time PCR. The expression of IFN-γ was up-regulated in both treated groups and the expression of IL-4 was only up-regulated in the group treated with Cu and down-regulated in the group treated with Pb. This study shows that the presence of heavy elements as drinking-water pollutants results in a disproportion of natural cytokines balances, and thus may result in a negative effect on immune system.
近年来，水污染已成为人类健康领域的一个热议话题。重金属是最重要的水污染物之一，其对人体系统的负面影响已得到证实。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究两种重金属（铅（Pb）和铜（Cu））对体液免疫和细胞免疫生物标志物白细胞介素-4（IL-4）和干扰素-γ（IFN-γ）表达的影响，并使用了聚合酶链反应（PCR）、实时定量 PCR 和电泳技术。在这项研究中，我们研究了 BALB/c 小鼠，它们可以自由饮用含有 Cu 或 Pb 盐的水。2 周后，取出小鼠的脾脏，提取 RNA，并为 RT-PCR 制备 cDNA。然后通过实时 PCR 评估 IL-4 和 IFN-γ 基因的表达。在两种处理组中 IFN-γ 的表达都上调，而在 Cu 处理组中 IL-4 的表达上调，在 Pb 处理组中下调。这项研究表明，饮用水污染物中重金属的存在会导致天然细胞因子平衡失调，从而可能对免疫系统产生负面影响。
