Percutaneous toxicity of dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) in rats.

Contact hypersensitivity reaction (CHS) is a T-cell-mediated skin inflammatory reaction to cutaneous exposure to small sensitizing chemicals, haptens. While the significance of local inflammatory skin response to the hapten application in CHS induction and expression is known, there is paucity of data concerning systemic inflammation in CHS. In this study, changes in cellular (peripheral blood granulocytes) and humoral (plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels) components of inflammation during sensitization of rats with two consecutive applications of dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) were examined. The impact of sensitization on these parameters was determined by employing low (0.4%) and high (4%) hapten doses and by examining the dynamics (i.e. one and three days following the last application of DNCB) of these changes. Dose-dependent increase in relative numbers and priming (for respiratory burst and adhesion) effect of skin sensitization with DNCB on peripheral blood neutrophils in rats were noted. No changes in circulating TNF-α levels were observed following the sensitization. The increase in lung myeloperoxidase content and histologically evident presence of neutrophils was observed in lungs of the sensitized rats. The changes in granulocyte priming for adhesion might have accounted for the observed increase in lung neutrophil content in the sensitized rats.