Inhibition of murine interferon production following in vivo administration of benzo[a]pyrene

To investigate whether alteration in interferon (IFN) production might serve as a biomarker for certain toxic chemical exposures, an in vivo mouse model system was studied. Female C3H mice were injected intraperitoneally with varying doses of benzo[a]pyrene (BP), and at various times subsequent to this treatment, serum IFN levels, following Sendai virus induction, were determined by a cytopathic effect inhibition assay. Doses of 4.6 mg/mouse (180 mg/kg body weight) caused a significant depression in IFN production at 12, 48, and 120 h after BP administration. Doses of 0.46 mg also produced significant decreases at 48 h following exposure. At 48 h post-BP treatment, the reduction in serum IFN titers in treated animals relative to controls was: 62% for the 0.46-mg dose, and 94% for the 4.6-mg dose. These results indicate that systemic administration of BP can significantly depress the whole-animal IFN response to viral stimulation, and that such depression can persist for a rather extended period at certain dose levels.