Moszczyński P
Regional Hospital Immunological Laboratory, Brzesko, Poland.
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 1997;10(3):247-58.
This article reviews the literature data concerning the immunologic monitoring of animals and cell cultures exposed to mercury compounds. Mercury is present in nature as metallic mercury, mono- and bivalent inorganic compounds, and organic alkyl, aryl and alloxy-alkyl compounds. Methylmercury is most important in terms of environmental exposure while metallic mercury is the most common form to which workers are exposed. The database on immune function disturbances in human induced by mercury compounds is limited. Immunotoxicity assessment in animals, mainly in rodents, with subsequent extrapolation to man, is the basis of human risk assessment. The strength of in vitro immunotoxicity testing lies in studies aimed at unravelling mechanisms of immunotoxicity. These experimental investigations show clearly that mercury compounds can have immunomodulating activity. Mercuric chloride and methylmercury inhibit most of animal and human lymphocyte functions including proliferation, expression of cell activation markers on cell surface and cytokine production. These cells exhibit a greater sensitivity to the immunotoxic effects of methylmercury than to mercuric chloride. Repeated administration of mercuric chloride to rats, mice and rabbits can induce autoimmune response and a membranous nephropathy. In contrast, Lewis rats injected with mercuric chloride do not develop autoimmunity but exhibit immunosuppression. The immunosuppressive effects associated with exposure to chemical substances are often accompanied by increased susceptibility to challenge with infectious agents or tumour cells. Only few reports are available on animal studies of increased mortality connected with exposure to mercury compounds and challenge with infectious agents. It is difficult to establish a relationship between the observed immunomodulatory properties of mercury compounds and their possible carcinogenicity. In fact, the epidemiological studies performed so far failed to bring any conclusive evidence of carcinogenicity of mercury in animal experiments. The induction of renal tumours in male rodents by methylmercury was observed only.
本文综述了有关暴露于汞化合物的动物和细胞培养物免疫监测的文献数据。汞在自然界中以金属汞、一价和二价无机化合物以及有机烷基、芳基和烷氧基烷基化合物的形式存在。就环境暴露而言，甲基汞最为重要，而金属汞是工人接触的最常见形式。关于汞化合物诱导人类免疫功能紊乱的数据库有限。以动物（主要是啮齿动物）进行免疫毒性评估并随后外推至人类，是人类风险评估的基础。体外免疫毒性测试的优势在于旨在揭示免疫毒性机制的研究。这些实验研究清楚地表明，汞化合物可具有免疫调节活性。氯化汞和甲基汞抑制大多数动物和人类淋巴细胞功能，包括增殖、细胞表面细胞活化标志物的表达以及细胞因子的产生。这些细胞对甲基汞的免疫毒性作用比对氯化汞更为敏感。对大鼠、小鼠和兔子反复给予氯化汞可诱导自身免疫反应和膜性肾病。相比之下，注射氯化汞的刘易斯大鼠不会发生自身免疫，但表现出免疫抑制。与接触化学物质相关的免疫抑制作用通常伴随着对感染因子或肿瘤细胞攻击的易感性增加。关于暴露于汞化合物并受到感染因子攻击导致动物死亡率增加的研究报告很少。很难确定所观察到的汞化合物免疫调节特性与其可能的致癌性之间的关系。事实上，迄今为止进行的流行病学研究未能在动物实验中提供任何关于汞致癌性的确凿证据。仅观察到甲基汞可在雄性啮齿动物中诱发肾肿瘤。
