Effects of vanadium on immunologic functions

Exposure of mice to vanadium caused a dose-related but nonsignificant decrease in the antibody-forming cells in the spleen of animals challenged with sheep erythrocytes. Delayed hypersensitivity reaction was not affected in similarly sensitized animals. Serum immunoglobulins were also not altered by the vanadium treatment. Splenic lymphocytes obtained at 1, 4, 8 and 13 wk of exposure to 0, 1, 10, and 50 mg of vanadium per liter of drinking water showed an increased DNA synthesis related to vanadium treatment when cultured in the presence of phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen but not with bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Addition of vanadium to splenic cultures in vitro caused a marked enhancement of lymphocyte transformation at low concentrations, whereas a decreased cellular proliferation was observed at high concentrations of vanadium.