Immunotoxicity future studies

BXSB/Mp, NZBxNZW/Fl, NZM, AKR). Experience with any of these strains is scarce and is restricted mainly to salts of heavy metals such as mercury. Mercury has been clearly shown to have immunostimulatory effects in NZBxNZW/Fl mice (Pollard et al., 1999). In a study examining the immunotoxic effects of diphenyl-hydantoin (Bloksma et al., 1994), MRL mice were exposed to the drug in the drinking-water for a period of six months in this case, however, no indications of adverse immune reactions were found. Future studies should include more autoimmunogenic pharmaceuticals and negative controls in order to determine the extent to which systemic lupus erythematosus-prone models are useful to study or predict chemical-induced autoimmunity. 

Representative tests for the evaluation of immune responses are given in Table 18. The table is not all-inclusive and other tests may be applicable. The examples presented in the table are only representative of the large number of tests that are currently available. The table is informative but incomplete as in the future direct and indirect markers of immune response may be validated and their predictive value documented, thus providing new tests for immunotoxidty. Direct measures of immune system activity by functional assays are the most important types of test for immunotoxicity. Functional assays are generally more important than tests for soluble mediators, which are more important than phenotyping. Signs of illness may be important in in vivo experiments, but symptoms may also have a significant role in studies of immune function in clinical trials and postmarket studies. 

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