Autoimmunity, environmental exposure and vaccination: is there a link?

Although the wide clinical experience shows that vaccines are generally safe, concern has been expressed for a causal link between vaccines and autoimmune diseases. Even though the mechanisms of autoimmunity are ill-elucidated, the role of pre-existing risk factors including genetic predisposition a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxicology (Amsterdam) 2004-03, Vol.196 (3), p.211-216
Main Authors: Ravel, G., Christ, M., Horand, F., Descotes, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
(NZB×NZW) F 1 mice
Animals
Autoantibodies - biosynthesis
Autoantibodies - immunology
Autoimmune Diseases - chemically induced
Autoimmunity
Biological and medical sciences
Body Weight - drug effects
Cell Nucleus - immunology
DNA - immunology
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Pollutants - toxicity
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
General aspects
Hepatitis B vaccine
Hepatitis B Vaccines - adverse effects
Hepatitis B virus
Immunoglobulin G - metabolism
Immunopathology
Medical sciences
Mercuric Chloride - toxicity
Mice
Mice, Inbred NZB
Proteinuria - metabolism
Risk factors
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Summary:Although the wide clinical experience shows that vaccines are generally safe, concern has been expressed for a causal link between vaccines and autoimmune diseases. Even though the mechanisms of autoimmunity are ill-elucidated, the role of pre-existing risk factors including genetic predisposition and environmental factors is largely accepted. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that vaccines can promote autoimmunity in genetically-prone individuals when simultaneously exposed to a chemical known to induce autoimmune reactions. Female lupus-prone (NZB×NZW) F 1 mice were given 1 μg or 10 μg of a hepatitis B vaccine at 2-week intervals in conjunction with 40 μg of mercuric chloride three times per week for 6 weeks. A marked increase in serum IgG levels and a slight increase in anti-nuclear autoantibody (ANA) levels were seen in the mice given 10 μg of the vaccine plus mercuric chloride. No straightforward conclusion can be drawn from these results because of the extreme experimental conditions of this study. Nevertheless, the results tend to support the hypothesis that vaccination could enhance the risk of autoimmunity in genetically susceptible individuals when exposed to certain environmental chemicals.
ISSN:0300-483X
1879-3185
DOI:10.1016/j.tox.2003.10.005