The effects of organic compounds used in the manufacture of plastics on the responsivity of murine and human lymphocytes

Abstract

The effects of acute exposure to a number of industrially important organic compounds on the immunological responses of human and murine lymphocytes were studied. The compounds were benzene, 1,4-dioxane, toluene diisocyanate (TDI), vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, ethylenimine, and epichlorohydrin. Control compounds known to have immunological effects were azothioprine, hydrocortisone acetate, and triethylene melamine (TEM). The uptake of tritiated thymidine ([ 3H]TdR) of lymphocytes was used to measure their ability to respond to mitogenic agents, allogeneic lymphocytes, or the antigenic nature of the compounds themselves. Most of the compounds were found to be cytotoxic to lymphocytes at high concentrations. Dioxane and TDI showed evidence of specific actions on the immunological system. Dioxane suppressed T-cell responses while augmenting B-cell responses. TDI exhibited stimulatory effects at several concentrations to both human and murine lymphocytes. These findings indicate that of the chemicals studied, both dioxane and TDI have properties which make them capable of affecting lymphocytes in ways other than nonspecific cytoxicity. These properties make TDI and dioxane especially interesting when monitoring immunological systems of industrial workers who have been accidentally exposed to these compounds at high concentrations or who are routinely exposed to minimal levels of these compounds.