It has been suggested that the organic fraction of particulate matter in air pollution has a major role in the toxicity of this pollutant, notably via its effects on inflammation. The major organic compounds adsorbed onto these particles are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), among which benzo In general, coating the CB with PAH did not modify the effect of the CB alone; the exception was that LPS-induced IL-1β secretion was reduced. In contrast, ultrafine CB (14 nm diameter: ufCB) caused a decrease in cytokine secretion; this effect was modified by PAH coating. For example, PAH coating on ufCB amplified the inhibitory effect of ufCB against IL-1β secretion but did not modify IL-8 formation. Moreover, PAH coating on ufCB tended to minimize the effect of LPS stimulation; this included (i) inhibition of the decrease in IL-12 secretion induced by uncoated ufCB and (ii) stimulation of IL-10 production. It was concluded that adsorption of PAH onto these particles could decrease their bioavailability and so their abilities to affect cell cytokine production. The results also showed that when PAH were adsorbed onto the fine particles, any observed increases in cytokine secretion consistently appeared to be due to the particles themselves. In contrast, while ufCB alone almost uniformly led to decreases in cytokine formation by the

The aim of the present work is to investigate the link between two endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs), which are chemicals that interfere with the hormone system in human and wildlife, and the human immune response through a study of their effects on the THP-1 human cell line which was used as a model for macrophages. We used two EDCs, dilsenonylphthalate (

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