Thimerosal compromises human dendritic cell maturation, IL-12 production, chemokine release, and T-helper polarization.

Thimerosal is a preservative used in multidose vials of vaccine formulations to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination. We recently reported that nanomolar concentrations of thimerosal induce cell cycle arrest of human T cells activated via the TCR and inhibition of proinflammatory cytokine production, thus interfering with T-cell functions. Given the essential role of dendritic cells (DCs) in T-cell polarization and vaccine immunity, we studied the influence of non-toxic concentrations of thimerosal on DC maturation and functions. Ex-vivo exposure of human monocyte-derived DCs to nanomolar concentrations of thimerosal prevented LPS-induced DC maturation, as evidenced by the inhibition of morphological changes and a decreased expression of the maturation markers CD86 and HLA-DR. In addition thimerosal dampened their proinflammatory response, in particular the production of the Th1 polarizing cytokine IL-12, as well as TNF-α and IL-6. DC-dependent T helper polarization was altered, leading to a decreased production of IFN-γ IP10 and GM-CSF and increased levels of IL-8, IL-9, and MIP-1α. Although multi-dose vials of vaccines containing thimerosal remain important for vaccine delivery, our results alert about the ex-vivo immunomodulatory effects of thimerosal on DCs, a key player for the induction of an adaptive response.

Suppression by thimerosal of ex-vivo CD4+ T cell response to influenza vaccine and induction of apoptosis in primary memory T cells.

Thimerosal is a preservative used widely in vaccine formulations to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination in multidose vials of vaccine. Thimerosal was included in the multidose non-adjuvanted pandemic 2009 H1N1 vaccine Panenza. In the context of the analysis of the ex-vivo T cell responses directed against influenza vaccine, we discovered the in vitro toxicity Panenza, due to its content in thimerosal. Because thimerosal may skew the immune response to vaccines, we investigated in detail the ex-vivo effects of thimerosal on the fate and functions of T cells in response to TCR ligation. We report that ex-vivo exposure of quiescent or TCR-activated primary human T cells to thimerosal induced a dose-dependent apoptotic cell death associated with depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, generation of reactive oxygen species, cytochrome c release from the mitochondria and caspase-3 activation. Moreover, exposure to non-toxic concentrations of thimerosal induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase of TCR-activated T cells, and inhibition of the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN gamma, IL-1 beta, TNF alpha, IL-2, as well as the chemokine MCP1. No shift towards Th2 or Th17 cells was detected. Overall these results underline the proapoptotic effect of thimerosal on primary human lymphocytes at concentrations 100 times less to those contained in the multidose vaccine, and they reveal the inhibitory effect of this preservative on T-cell proliferation and functions at nanomolar concentrations.