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Abstract
The immunotoxic consequences of chemical exposures include direct immunotoxicity (namely immunosuppression and immunostimulation), hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, and because the mechanisms involved are markedly different, no single immune parameter is likely to ever predict or assess all three types of immunotoxicity. A fairly large number of immunological endpoints have been proposed for use as biomarkers of immunotoxicity in man. Unfortunately, they are often not sensitive enough and/or poorly standardized, so that their relevance for assessing immunotoxic effects in humans is debatable, and actually debated. Immune-mediated sentinel events detected in individuals with a defined history of chemical exposure, may prove helpful until methodological advances, notably with the introduction of technologies derived from molecular biology, provide reliable parameters to be used as biomarkers of immunotoxicity.