The physical half-life of DU is up to 4.49 x 109 years, and the element remains in the environment for a long time, contaminating http://www.selleckchem.com/products/VX-809.html soil, groundwater, flora, and fauna, which eventually enter the human body through the food chain, leading to chronic contamination of local residents (Di Lella et al., 2005). The radioactivity of DU is approximately 60% that of natural uranium,

but DU has the same heavy-metal toxicity as natural uranium (Priest, 2001 and Squibb et al., 2012). During acute high-dose exposures, the kidney is the main target organ of the chemical toxicity of DU, which may cause severe tubular necrosis (Hao et al., 2012a) and mitochondrial damage (Shaki et al., 2012). Low-dose chronic exposure may cause a series of harmful effects, such as neurobehavioural abnormalities, genetic toxicity, reproductive toxicity, and cancer (Houpert et al., 2005, Lestaevel et al., 2005, Hao et al., 2009, Hao et al., 2012b and Mould, 2001). Gagnaire et al. (2013) reported that low-dose DU exposure had an impact on oxidative stress, detoxification, and the defence

system of zebrafish; moreover, the researchers stressed that further research on immunotoxicity (or immune markers) would elucidate these effects of uranium. Our previous research (Hao et al., 2012a) has confirmed that in addition to primary accumulation in the kidney, DU also accumulates in the liver and spleen, suggesting that DU might have certain effects on the immune system. Several studies have confirmed that DU

has a toxic effect on immune cells in vitro. Kalinich find protocol et al. (2002) found MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit that macrophages can uptake uranium and subsequently undergo apoptosis. Gazin et al. (2004) determined that DU causes abnormal expression and release of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 from macrophages. Wan et al. (2006) demonstrated that exposure to low-dose DU affects the immune function through regulation of the expression of cytokines (e.g., involved in signal transduction, interleukin expression, chemokines, chemokine receptors, and neurotrophic factors). However, few published studies exist on the impact of DU on immune function and inflammation in live animals. Monleau et al. (2006) found that inhalation of insoluble DU causes a time-dependent increase in a variety of inflammatory cytokines in rat lung tissue. A rat model of chronic exposure was established by long-term intake of uranium-containing water (40 mg/l); at 3, 6, and 9 months, the effect of uranium exposure on various inflammatory pathways [prostaglandins, histamine, cytokines and nitric oxide (NO)] was evaluated. The results revealed that chronic ingestion of DU causes time-dependent changes in a variety of inflammatory pathways (Dublineau et al., 2007). DU enters the body through the oral route. Direct ingestion of contaminated food and soil should also be considered in addition to drinking contaminated water.