Abstract
WE have encountered a problem with the collection and in vitro activation of peritoneal exudate macrophages (PEM) from mice, which we can now associate with high levels of chlorine in the drinking water. Historically the chlorination of drinking water in colonies of experimental rodents was carried out in order to avoid the so-called early death syndrome in lethally irradiated animals, which is due to pathogenic enteric bacteria such as Pseudomonas. The recommended level of chlorine necessary to achieve this goal is 12–16 parts per million (p.p.m.)1. Because of an unusually high incidence of Pseudomonas within a few breeding units of our animal facility, the chlorination level of the drinking water was increased to 25–30 p.p.m. We found that this hyperchlorination had an adverse effect on an important host defense mechanism, that is the macrophage system, whose primary function is to eliminate microbial pathogens2,3 and neoplasms3,4.
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FIDLER, I. Depression of macrophages in mice drinking hyperchlorinated water. Nature 270, 735–736 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/270735a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/270735a0
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