Suppression of immune function and susceptibility to infections in humans: association of immune function with...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Toxicology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Regulatory agencies in Europe, Japan, and the US mandate immunotoxicity testing for chemicals and drugs.
• Current testing guidelines utilize animal models to assess immune function changes and predict susceptibility to infection or cancer.
• Predicting human disease risk requires correlating immune function alterations with clinical outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review clinical evidence linking immune function alterations to disease risk in humans.
• To identify specific immune defects associated with increased infection rates.
• To examine factors influencing the interpretation of clinical data on immunosuppression.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of clinical studies.
• Focus on mild to moderate immunosuppression in humans.
• Exclusion of extreme immunodeficiency cases (e.g., primary immunodeficiency, AIDS).

Main Results:

• Clinical data demonstrates correlations between altered immune function and increased disease risk in humans.
• Specific immune system defects are identified as contributors to higher infection rates.
• Factors affecting the interpretation of clinical data in immunosuppression are discussed.

Conclusions:

• Understanding human immune responses to mild-to-moderate immunosuppression is crucial for accurate risk assessment.
• Clinical evidence supports the link between immune function and disease susceptibility.
• Further research is needed to refine the interpretation of clinical data for predicting disease risk.