Developmental exposure to low doses of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane impairs proliferative response of thymic lymphocytes to Concanavalin A in rats

The aim of the research was to study formation of thymic lymphocytes proliferative response to T cell mitogen Concanavalin A in 7, 42, and 70 days-old male Wistar rats developmentally exposed to low doses of endocrine disruptor dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (2.90 ± 0.13 μg/kg body weight). The thymus of the exposed rats did not show morphological abnormalities. Exposure to the endocrine disrupter was found to alter age-dependent changes of thymic lymphocyte proliferative activity and attenuate proliferative response to Concanavalin A in puberty and adulthood. Insufficient response to mitogen was mediated by higher content of actively proliferating Ki-67-positive lymphoblasts compared to the control values. Insufficient proliferative response to mitogen in developmentally exposed to the endocrine disruptor rats may provide higher risk of impaired cellular immune reactions.