Virus-pesticide interactions with murine cellular immunity after sublethal exposure to dieldrin and aminocarb

Interaction of two potential immunosuppressive factors, sublethal pesticide exposure and viral inhibition of lymphocyte mitogenesis, was examined in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). Inbred (C57Bl/6 x A/J)F mice, semisusceptible to mouse hepatitis virus 3 (MHV3) infection were exposed to selected pesticides and subsequently infected with the MHV3 virus. The mortality of animals was examined as a function of pesticide exposure. Two pesticides were selected for further studies: the organochlorine pesticide dieldrin, which increased the cumulative mortality of animals, and the carbamate pesticide aminocarb, which did not affect the virus-induced cumulative mortality of animals. Spleen lymphocytes from dieldrin- and aminocarb-exposed C57Bl/6 mice (susceptible to MHV3 infection) were used as responder cells in one-way MLR. A marked immunosuppression of the MLR proliferative response was observed in the dieldrin group, whereas sublethal exposure to aminocarb did not affect the in vitro MLR response. The MLR cultures were subsequently infected in vitro with the MHV3 virus, which resulted in a time-dependent and virus dose-dependent inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation. However, no synergism was observed with the addition of either the MHV3 virus-induced inhibition of in vitro MLR lymphoproliferative response or dieldrin-related immunosuppression, since in vitro MHV3 infection of cells from dieldrin-exposed mice did not aggravate the dieldrin-related immunosuppression. In addition, no "hidden" aminocarb-related damage of the lymphoproliferative response was noted, as the kinetics of the virus-induced inhibition in the aminocarb group were analogous to the control. In conclusion, dieldrin-induced immunosuppression of the cellular immune response, rather than MHV3 virus-induced inhibition of lymphoproliferative activity itself, was the primary factor potentially responsible for the impaired cellular response. Furthermore, the data support the observation that cell-mediated immunity can be a potential target for the adverse effects of pesticide exposure.