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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Times New Roman"><A HREF="http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/phthalates-predispose-mice-to-allergic-reactions">http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/phthalates-predispose-mice-to-allergic-reactions</A></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Times New Roman">/</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Arial">Phthalates predispose mice to allergies.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT SIZE=5 FACE="Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></B></P>
<P DIR=LTR ALIGN=RIGHT><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="de"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Mar 04, 2009 </FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="de"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Shigeno T, M Katakuse, T Fujita, Y Mukoyama and H Watanabe.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">2009.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Phthalate ester-induced thymic stromal lymphopoietin mediates allergic</FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">dermatitis in mice</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2567.2009.03094.x"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">Immunology 128:e849-57</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122271056/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><BR>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Synopsis by</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/Members/nmartin"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">Negin P. Martin, Ph. D</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Phthalates</FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">–</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> commonly used plasticizers</FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">–</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> modify the immune system to make it more likely for mice to develop allergies.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A HREF="javascript:void(0)"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">ShareThi</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">s</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) rubbed onto mouse skin changed the chemistry of the rodents' immune system and made them more prone to developing contact allergies, reports a new study published in the scient</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">ific journal Immunology.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">This is the first study to show how DBP modifies the mouse immune system to predispose it to developing a type of allergy known as contact hypersensitivity. The results support prior studies that have found a connection between pht</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">halates and allergies.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Allergies are an immune response to a substance that is not usually harmful. The response, however, is often damaging and uncomfortable. Contact hypersensitivity occurs when an individual becomes sensitized to a chemical and the skin</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> becomes inflamed after touching the substance. The allergic reaction to poison ivy is the best known example of contact hypersensitivity.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Roughly 20 percent of Americans suffer from allergies. Rapid increases in the prevalence of allergies</FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">–</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> especially am</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">ong children in urban areas</FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman">–</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> suggest that environmental factors play a role in predisposing people to developing them.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is an airborne environmental pollutant. It is a plasticizer found in many common household products, toys, cosme</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">tics and health products. DBP is an endocrine disruptor associated with developmental, metabolic and reproductive disorders. It has also been shown to sensitize skin during immunological studies.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">In this study, researchers sensitized mice to chemical mixtu</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">res by rubbing them onto the left ears. During the sensitization process, chemicals interact with proteins in the skin and are recognized as a foreign body or an antigen by the immune system.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Five days later, they rubbed the same mixtures on the mice</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">’</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">s rig</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">ht ears. They noticed that the mixture that contained DBP caused an allergic reaction. The mice ears became swollen after this second exposure. The mice rubbed with the mixtures without the chemical did not react.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">After testing the individual components of</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> the mixture, scientists discovered that DBP is the chemical that caused mice to elicit an immune response after the second exposure. The first time the DBP-containing substance was rubbed on a mouse's ear, it changed the protein chemistry of the immune s</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">y</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">stem to make it react more severely to consequent exposures.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">These findings suggest that exposure to environmental pollutants such as DBP can contribute significantly to developing allergies</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">.</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A NAME=""><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Deborah L. DeBiasi</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><B><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Email: Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</FONT></SPAN></B><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"></FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><I></I></B></SPAN><B><I><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">(NEW!)<BR>
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</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000080" FACE="Arial"><BR>
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