Blood metal levels and metal-influenced immune functions of harbour seals in captivity

Kakuschke, Antje; Valentine-Thon, Elizabeth; Griesel, Simone; Rosenberger, Tanja; Mundry, Roger; Siebert, Ursula; Prange, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.01.015

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The special modification, MELISA (Memory Lymphocyte Immunostimulation Assay), was performed as previously described in the Laboratory Center Bremen, Germany [25][26][27]. The mitogen-and nonstimulated lymphocyte proliferation was tested as well as the metalspecific proliferation after stimulation with the following metals/metal species: Al, Au, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, ethylmercury (EtHg), mercurychloride (HgCl), methylmercury (MeHg), phenylmercury (PhHg), Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, and Ti.…”

Section: Metal Hypersensitivitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Kakuschke¹,

Gandrass²,

Luzardo

et al. 2012

ISRN Zoology

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Helgoland and Sylt are important centers of tourism in the North Sea. Harbor and grey seals are one reason for the attraction of these islands. However, little is known about these local seal groups. The present postmortem health and pollution study describes a multiparameter investigation of five ill harbor seals which were shot for animal welfare reasons. Firstly, results of pathology and blood investigations support the bad prognosis of survival made in the field. Signs of inflammation in organs, malnutrition, a high-stress level, and reduced thyroid activity were found. Secondly, metal and organic contaminants were investigated. Metal pollutants in blood, liver, muscle, and kidney tissue were not elevated. Lead and mercury concentrations showed a decreased level compared to former studies. Additionally, interesting insights were found for several organic contaminants in comparison with other studies. The Helgoland seals may be influenced by the contaminants of the Elbe plume.

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Section: Metal Hypersensitivitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Kakuschke¹,

Gandrass²,

Luzardo

et al. 2012

ISRN Zoology

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“…However, only few studies have performed a multi-element analysis in blood of marine mammals [3][4][5][6], in particular of the pinnipeds of the North Sea [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These relationships are substantiated by metal contamination affecting the immunocompetence and disrupt the immune homeostasis. Immunomodulation by metals in marine mammals are reported in several studies [9,10,[35][36][37][38][39]. An in vitro study on lymphocytes of seal pups suggests that there immune cells are particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of metals during the newborn period and that this susceptibility decreases as the animals age [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Kakuschke¹,

Griesel²,

Fonfara³

et al. 2008

Biol Trace Elem Res

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This study on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups of the North Sea evaluated concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential elements (Al, As, Be, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, and Zn) in whole blood samples. The essential elements are analyzed to give references for health status determinations of pups. The measurement of classic toxic metals, like Pb or Cd, and other elements that may be in toxic concentrations in blood, is important due to their influence on health, particularly on the immune system. Blood samples of six seal pups found on the German Wadden Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein in 2004 and transported to the Seal Centre Friedrichskoog, Germany were collected. The blood sampling was performed three times, immediately after collection of the newborns, after 1.5 months, and after 2 months before their release back into the wild. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry were used to determine the element concentrations. We found higher concentrations of Al, As, Fe, Mo, and Zn in blood samples of newborns compared to samples collected later, probably due to transplacental and lactational transfer from mother to fetus. Furthermore, there is a high need for, in particular, Fe and Zn in the developing organism, which may cause reduced values after some month. In contrast, the concentrations of Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se, and Sn, which were low in newborns and increased during the study, may be due to the fish fed to infant pups. Compared to free-ranging adults, in pups, the concentrations of Al, Ni, and Pb were higher in contrast to lower concentrations of As, Mn, and Mo. This case study is the first report on element levels in harbor seal pups of the North Sea.

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“…Indeed, harbour seals of the Wadden Sea displayed high blood levels of contaminants in the present study ( PCBs, HO-PCBs, DDXs and T-Hg) (Tables 2 and 3). Concentrations of organic contaminants ( PCBs, HO-PCBs DDXs, PBDEs, MeO-PBDEs) and trace elements (Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe) analyzed in the blood of these 18 harbour seals are from the same order of magnitude than those found in the last few years in individuals from the same seal population (Das et al, 2008;Griesel et al, 2006Griesel et al, , 2008Kakuschke et al, 2008;Weijs et al, 2009a). The profile of PCBs (CB 153 > CB 138 > CB 187 > CB 146 > CB 99) analyzed in the serum was similar to that described previously for harbour seals collected between 2006 and 2008 in the same geographical area (Weijs et al, 2009a), and for grey seals from the North Sea where PCB 153 and 138 were the main contributors (Vanden Berghe et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Blood sampling of marine mammals is considered as a convenient and minimally invasive method, relevant for the analyses of pollutants and biomarkers (Habran et al, 2011(Habran et al, , 2013Vanden Berghe et al, 2012), and for in vitro assays (Ross et al, 2003a). In vitro cultures of PBLs are indeed routinely used to assess the relationship between environmental contaminants and immune alterations in free-ranging marine mammals (Cámara Pellissó et al, 2008;De Guise et al, 1998;Kakuschke et al, 2008;Levin et al, 2005Levin et al, , 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between in vitro lymphoproliferative responses and levels of contaminants in blood of free-ranging adult harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from the North Sea

Dupont¹,

Siebert²,

Weijs³

et al. 2013

Aquatic Toxicology

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In vitro culture of peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs) is currently used in toxicological studies of marine mammals. However, blood cells of wild individuals are exposed in vivo to environmental contaminants before being isolated and exposed to contaminants in vitro. The aim of this study was to highlight potential relationships between blood contaminant levels and in vitro peripheral blood lymphocyte proliferation in free-ranging adult harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from the North Sea. Blood samples of 18 individuals were analyzed for trace elements (Fe, Zn, Se, Cu, Hg, Pb, Cd) and persistent organic contaminants and metabolites (ΣPCBs, ΣHO-PCBs, ΣPBDEs, 2-MeO-BDE68 and 6-MeO-BDE47, ΣDDXs, hexachlorobenzene, oxychlordane, trans-nonachlor, pentachlorophenol and tribromoanisole). The same samples were used to determine the haematology profiles, cell numbers and viability, as well as the in vitro ConA-induced lymphocyte proliferation expressed as a stimulation index (SI). Correlation tests (Bravais-Pearson) and Principal Component Analysis with multiple regression revealed no statistically significant relationship between the lymphocyte SI and the contaminants studied. However, the number of lymphocytes per millilitre of whole blood appeared to be negatively correlated to pentachlorophenol (r=-0.63, p=0.005). In adult harbour seals, the interindividual variations of in vitro lymphocyte proliferation did not appear to be directly linked to pollutant levels present in the blood, and it is likely that other factors such as age, life history, or physiological parameters have an influence. In a general manner, experiments with in vitro immune cell cultures of wild marine mammals should be designed so as to minimize confounding factors in which case they remain a valuable tool to study pollutant effects in vitro.

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Blood metal levels and metal-influenced immune functions of harbour seals in captivity

Cited by 14 publications

References 30 publications

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Postmortem Health and Pollution Investigations on Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) of the Islands Helgoland and Sylt

Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Relationships between in vitro lymphoproliferative responses and levels of contaminants in blood of free-ranging adult harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from the North Sea

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