Abstract
The effects of metals on the primary humoral immune system of mice were investigated using a hemolytic plaque technique to determine the number of specific antibody-producing spleen cells. Inhalation of NiCl 2 for 2 hr resulted in a significant negative linear dose response, the lowest effective concentration tested being 250 μg of Ni/m 3. Following a 2 hr aerosol exposure to NiCl 2, the lung cleared Ni on a first-order kinetics basis. A significant reduction in the number of plaques per 10 6 cells also was observed with exposure to 190 μg of Cd/m 3. Analyses of the data from intramuscularly exposed mice indicated that concentrations greater than or equal to 3.90 μg of Ni/g body weight (as NiSO 4) and greater than or equal to 9.25 μg of Ni/g body weight (as NiCl 2) resulted in significant immunosuppression. Intramuscular treatments with NiO, CdCl 2, and CrCl 3 had no effect at the concentrations tested.
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