Pesticide and Immunotoxicology

Abstract

Several types of pesticides such as organophosphates, phenoxyacetic acid, and carbamate have a high risk of affecting human immune system, causing immune suppression, allergies, and autoimmune diseases. However, immunotoxi-cology of pesticides has not been characterized well so far. Therefore, this chapter will address the immunotoxic response including immunosuppression, hypersensi-tivity, and autoimmune diseases to environmental chemicals such as pesticide, her-bicide, and fungicide. In addition, current detection method for immunotoxic substances is not sensitive and optimized enough to look for the events associated with pesticide exposure, whereas general toxicity, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxic-ity, and genotoxicity are basically well detected throughout the international guidelines issued by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recently, our group has developed several immunotoxicology tests particularly for immunosuppression and respiratory sensitization both in vivo and in vitro. This chapter will also focus on newly developed testing method to detect the immunotoxic event associated with pesticide exposure.