Brief exposure to triphenyltin produces irreversible inhibition of the cytotoxic function of human natural killer cells

Phenyltin (PT) compounds (mono-, di-, and triphenyltins) are used in agricultural and consumer products. They contaminate the environment and have toxic effects on aquatic and terrestrial animals including humans. In an earlier study we demonstrated that PTs (1 μM, for 1 h in vitro exposure) could cause considerable inhibition of the tumor-killing function of human natural killer (NK) cells (as much as 85%). In this study we examined whether cytotoxic function can be recovered after a brief exposure (1 h) to PTs. Freshly isolated lymphocytes were exposed to triphenyltin (TPT) or diphenyltin (DPT) for 1 h. The compound was then removed and the cells were incubated in PT-free medium for as long as 6 days. The results indicated that exposure to 750 nM TPT for 1 h caused an 63±10% decrease in NK-cytotoxic function. However, if the cells were exposed to 750 nM TPT for 1 h and then allowed to incubate in TPT-free medium for 24 h, there was a 91±12% loss of cytotoxic function. NK-cytotoxic function remained inhibited for as long as 6 days after removal of the TPT. A 1-h exposure to as much as 5 μM DPT caused no loss of NK-cytotoxic function when the cells were tested immediately after the exposure. However, if the cells were allowed to incubate in DPT-free medium for 24 h after the 1-h exposure to 5 μM DPT, cytotoxicity was inhibited by 68±29% and this inhibition persisted for at least 6 days. These results indicated that short-term exposure to PTs caused persistent negative effects on human NK-cell function. The persistent effects of PTs are compared to those of the butyltins (BTs).