Evaluation of the Immunotoxic Potential of Pharmaceuticals: Functional Aspects

Developing a battery of immune function assays to screen potential immunotoxic com-pounds has been a major issue these past years. Combining histopathology of lymphoidorgans with several functional tests fosters the detection of an immunosuppressive drugand in addition provides information concerning the nonobservable adverse effect dose,thus fostering the performance of risk assessment. More work is urgently needed tocarefully evaluate differences between results obtained in rodents and humans due to theorigin of the cells used to perform the immune function assays, to develop more physiologi-cal tests, and to quantify the occupational risk linked to immunosuppressive molecules.The sensitization potential of a drug depends on the activation of specific lymphocytebut the clinical outcome is related to Th1/Th2 differentiation and the “cytokine” back-ground of the individual. Measuring cytokine production in “lymph node assays” willhelp to assess the potential of pharmaceuticals to produce contact and respiratory allergy.Key Words: Immunotoxicology; Immunosuppression; Hypersensitivity; Pharmaceuticals