This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Crevel, R. Articles by Sanders, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Crevel, R. Articles by Sanders, I. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Immunotoxicological assessment of cyclosporin A by conventional pathological techniques and immune function testing in the rat

Environmental Safety Laboratory, Unilever Research and Engineering, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, UK

P. Buckley

Environmental Safety Laboratory, Unilever Research and Engineering, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, UK

JA Robinson

Environmental Safety Laboratory, Unilever Research and Engineering, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, UK

IJ Sanders

Environmental Safety Laboratory, Unilever Research and Engineering, Colworth House, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, UK

1 Groups of male rats were given different doses of cyclosporin A, ranging from the maximum tolerated dose (20 mg/kg/day) downwards, 7 days a week for 28 days using a protocol derived from OECD test guide line 407.

2 At the end of the test, one set of animals underwent a detailed necropsy and histopathological examination of lymphoid tissues. Immune function was assessed using the lymphoproliferative response and natural killer cell activity of their spleen cells. Another set of animals was immunised with sheep erythrocytes on day 25 and used to evaluate the ability to produce specific anti-sheep red blood cell antibody.

3 Cyclosporin A produced detectable effects on the immune system at all doses and at doses lower than other toxic effects. Both histopathological techniques and one of the immune function tests were able to identify changes at the lowest dose, 1.25 mg/kg/day.

4 The results of this investigation suggest that conven tional histopathological techniques, if applied to a range of lymphoid organs, are sufficient to identify potential immunotoxicants without recourse to im mune function tests.

Key Words: Immunotoxicology • repeat dose 28-day study • histo pathology • immune function tests

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 16, No. 2, 79-88 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/096032719701600203


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. A. D. Mills, D. J. Coster, and K. A. Williams Effect of Immunosuppression on Outcome Measures in a Model of Rat Limbal Transplantation Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., March 1, 2002; 43(3): 647 - 655. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]