Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an environmental contaminant found in human blood. PCP has been used in fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, and antifouling paint. A number of cancers are associated with exposure to this contaminant. Previous studies in our lab show that PCP inhibits the lytic function of highly enriched human natural killer (NK) lymphocytes and decreases the expression of several surface proteins on NK cells. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine produced by lymphocytes and macrophages in response to infection. It mediates the acute phase response to injury by stimulating liver production of acute phase proteins and elevation in its levels has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and tumor progression. An increase or decrease in the level of Il-6 may lead to immune dysfunction or increased potential for inflammatory disorders and tumors. The objective of this study was to examine if exposure of human immune cells to PCP alters the secretion of IL-6. Immune cells included Peripheral Blood mononuclear cells (PBMCS), monocyte-depleted (MD) PBMCs, and enriched NK cells. Cells were exposed to 5 µM to 0.05 µM PCP for 24 h, 48 h and 6 days. Results indicate that PCP alters secretion of IL-6 from each immune cell preparation. MD-PBMCs and PBMCs showed increased secretion of IL-6 after at least one length of exposure to at least one concentration of PCP. The concentrations and lengths of exposure at which these increases occurred varied among the donors. These results suggest that PCP-induced alterations in IL-6 secretion may have the potential to cause immune system dysregulation.

Pentachlorophenol alters secretion of interleukin 6 (IL-6) from human immune cells

254th National Meeting (2017)

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