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Abstract Today, exposure to heavy metals has become a major environmental concern and an important health issue, whether in or developing countries. Human activities have led to a large dispersion of heavy metals in soil, water and air causing serious contamination problems. Lead (Pb) is a pervasive environmental toxicant, which is know to induce a broad range of pathiological changes in both man and laboratory animals. Pb has also been shown to have deleterious effects on the different effects on the different components of the immune system. There is already ample data indicating an immunomodulatory role of Pb in man and experimental animals. However, the findings are still controversial; both immunosuppression and immunostimulation have been reported, and the mechanisms are not fully clear. Moreover, reports about the immune response to low doses of Pb in relation to immune modulation are scanty. |