Abstract
Abstract Background Recently, we reported immunological and hematological perturbations in Swiss albino mice exposed to clomazone (CMZ) (Nassef, The Egyptian Journal of Experimental Biology (Zoology) 13(1):91–101, 2017). Aim To continue searching immunological perturbations of CMZ, the main goal of the current study was to investigate the probable immunobiochemical perturbations caused by CMZ and to evaluate the alleviating role of vitamin C. Methods To asses this goal, mice were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with vitamin C (1136 μM/kg), CMZ (46 μM/kg), or CMZ plus vitamin C with the same dose of each, daily for 4 weeks. Changes in relative weights of immune-related organs (spleen and thymus), renal functions (urea and creatinine), liver functions [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein], and immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype (IgA, IgG, and IgM) concentrations in addition to the proliferative capacity of CMZ-exposed murine lymphocytes were investigated. Results Results showed that CMZ injection caused a significant decrease in body weight gain along with significant decrease in the relative weights of the spleen and thymus. Values of ALT, AST, and ALP were significantly elevated, while total protein and LDH were significantly decreased in CMZ-exposed mice. CMZ injection led to significant increases in the levels of serum urea and creatinine. Moreover, the levels of serum IgA, IgG, and IgM in CMZ-treated mice were significantly lower than those in PBS-treated mice. Reduced lymphocyte proliferation capacity was observed in CMZ-treated mice. Interestingly, pre-treatment of vitamin C to CMZ-exposed mice mildly alleviated CMZ-induced immunobiochemical perturbations. Therefore, vitamin C mildly alleviated CMZ-induced immunobiochemical impacts, but it was not completely protective. Conclusion Further studies are needed to assess the relationships between antioxidants and CMZ-induced immunobiochemical perturbations.