Rcr. Perlingeiro et Mls. Queiroz, MEASUREMENT OF THE RESPIRATORY BURST AND CHEMOTAXIS IN POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES FROM MERCURY-EXPOSED WORKERS, Human & experimental toxicology, 14(3), 1995, pp. 281-286
The chemotactic and nitroblue tetrazolium reducing activities of neutr
ophils from 48 mercury-exposed workers were examined and compared with
those of non-exposed, age- and sex-matched individuals, At the time o
f testing, the exposed population had a mean (+/- s.d.) urinary mer cu
ry concentration of 24.0 +/- 20.1 mu g g(-1) creatinine and in 44 of t
hese workers urinary mercury levels were below the accepted threshold
level (TLV) of 50 mu g g(-1) creatinine. The two neutrophil functions
were significantly reduced in the mercury-exposed workers compared wit
h the controls, In 28 of these workers, chemotaxis was re-evaluated 6
months later, During the intervening 6 months, the level of hygiene wa
s improved throughout the plant and urinary mercury concentrations wer
e determined monthly in each worker. Despite a significant reduction i
n urinary mercury concentrations, neutrophil migration did not return
to within the normal range. These results suggest that 'safe' level me
rcury exposure may lead to impairment of neutrophil function.