Immunotoxic effects of environmental pollutants in marine mammals

Desforges, Jean‐Pierre; Sonne, Christian; Levin, Milton; Siebert, Ursula; Guise, Sylvain De; Dietz, Runé

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2015.10.007

Cited by 287 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 115 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

107

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Another intensively investigated case of wildlife disease with suspected chemical etiology is the distemper virus outbreak in harbor porpoises, which is considered to be related to the bioaccumulation of immunosuppressive polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; Beineke et al 2005;Hall et al 2006). In line with such field findings, a steadily increasing number of laboratory studies has demonstrated that immune parameters and immunocompetence of both invertebrate and vertebrate wildlife species are responsive to chemical exposure (for reviews, see Ross et al 1996;Rice et al 1996;Keller et al 2000;Galloway & Depledge 2001;Burnett 2005;Carlson & Zelikoff 2008;Desforges et al 2016). The toxicant-induced alterations of immunocompetence have consequences for organism fitness and survival as well as for the prevalence and spread of diseases in populations (Arkoosh et al 1998;Wilson 1999;Springman et al 2005;Loge et al 2005;Acevedo-Whitehouse & Duffus 2009;Graham et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

20 Years of fish immunotoxicology – what we know and where we are

Rehberger

Werner

Hitzfeld

et al. 2017

Critical Reviews in Toxicology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite frequent field observations of impaired immune response and increased disease incidence in contaminant-exposed wildlife populations, immunotoxic effects are rarely considered in ecotoxicological risk assessment. The aim of this study was to review the literature on immunotoxic effects of chemicals in fish to quantitatively evaluate (i) which experimental approaches were used to assess immunotoxic effects, (ii) whether immune markers exist to screen for potential immunotoxic activities of chemicals, and (iii) how predictive those parameters are for adverse alterations of fish immunocompetence and disease resistance. A total of 241 publications on fish immunotoxicity were quantitatively analyzed. The main conclusions included: (i) To date, fish immunotoxicology focused mainly on innate immune responses and immunosuppressive effects. (ii) In numerous studies, the experimental conditions are poorly documented, as for instance age or sex of the fish or the rationale for the selected exposure conditions is often missing. (iii) Although a broad variety of parameters were used to assess immunotoxicity, the rationale for the choice of measured parameters was often not given, remaining unclear how they link to the suspected immunotoxic mode of action of the chemicals. (iv) At the current state of knowledge, it is impossible to identify a set of immune parameters that could reliably screen for immunotoxic potentials of chemicals. (v) Similarly, in fish immunotoxicology there is insufficient understanding of how and when chemical-induced modulations of molecular/cellular immune changes relate to adverse alterations of fish immunocompetence, although this would be crucial to include immunotoxicity in ecotoxicological risk assessment.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

20 Years of fish immunotoxicology – what we know and where we are

Rehberger

Werner

Hitzfeld

et al. 2017

Critical Reviews in Toxicology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Immunotoxicity associated with PCBs (Mos et al, 2010) affects the ability of animals to combat disease, which is especially relevant during periods of nutritional stress and other types of stressors in highly variable environments (e.g., El Niño events or El Niño Southern Oscillation-ENSO) when mass mortality occurs and populations often approach the critical tipping point of extinction (Alava, Ross, et al, 2011, Alava, Salazar et al, 2011. Exposure to immunotoxic contaminants may facilitate the emergence of infectious disease outbreaks (Desforges et al, 2016;Ross, 2002).…”

Section: Climate Change-induced Pcb Sensitivity Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some POPs are still used in developing countries to control malaria vectors and pests, that is, organochlorine pesticides such as DDTs (Alava, Ross, et al, 2011, Alava, Salazar et al, 2011Blus, 2003), and cycling of PCBs in the marine environment lingers in many industrial areas (e.g., Blasius & Goodmanlowe, 2008;Grant et al, 2011;Johannessen et al, 2008). POPs are bioaccumulated by marine organisms and biomagnified in food webs, reaching exposure concentrations above threshold effect levels in certain populations of apex predators (e.g., Desforges et al, 2016;Kelly, Ikonomou, Blair, Morin & Gobas, 2007;Letcher et al, 2010;Ross, Ellis, Ikonomou, Barrett-Lennard & Addison, 2000;Scheuhammer et al, 2015). For example, a number of toxicological effects have been attributed to PCBs in marine mammals, including molecular and cellular alterations leading to immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and reproductive impairment (e.g., Addison, 1989;Brouwer, Reijnders & Koeman, 1989;Buckman et al, 2011;De Guise, Martineau, Beland & Fournier, 1998;Desforges et al, 2016;Hall et al, 2006;Mos, Cameron, Jeffries, Koop & Ross, 2010;Ross, De Swart, Timmerman, et al, 1996;Tabuchi et al, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change–contaminant interactions in marine food webs: Toward a conceptual framework

Alava

Cheung

Ross

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

127

105

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is reshaping the way in which contaminants move through the global environment, in large part by changing the chemistry of the oceans and affecting the physiology, health, and feeding ecology of marine biota. Climate change-associated impacts on structure and function of marine food webs, with consequent changes in contaminant transport, fate, and effects, are likely to have significant repercussions to those human populations that rely on fisheries resources for food, recreation, or culture. Published studies on climate change-contaminant interactions with a focus on food web bioaccumulation were systematically reviewed to explore how climate change and ocean acidification may impact contaminant levels in marine food webs. We propose here a conceptual framework to illustrate the impacts of climate change on contaminant accumulation in marine food webs, as well as the downstream consequences for ecosystem goods and services. The potential impacts on social and economic security for coastal communities that depend on fisheries for food are discussed. Climate change-contaminant interactions may alter the bioaccumulation of two priority contaminant classes: the fat-soluble persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as the protein-binding methylmercury (MeHg). These interactions include phenomena deemed to be either climate change dominant (i.e., climate change leads to an increase in contaminant exposure) or contaminant dominant (i.e., contamination leads to an increase in climate change susceptibility). We illustrate the pathways of climate change-contaminant interactions using case studies in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. The important role of ecological and food web modeling to inform decision-making in managing ecological and human health risks of chemical pollutants contamination under climate change is also highlighted. Finally, we identify the need to develop integrated policies that manage the ecological and socioeconomic risk of greenhouse gases and marine pollutants.

show abstract

“…Constantly threatened by pathogenic microorganisms, mammals have evolved an immune system that protects individuals from foreign antigens, and combats symptoms of infection (Herbert & Cohen, 1993). Generally separated into innate and adaptive immune systems, each comprise of both humoural and cellular components, with cellular immune responses mounted against intracellular pathogens such as viruses (Desforges et al, 2016). Cells involved in innate immunity are all-purpose cells, such as granulocytes, that can quickly attack a number of different pathogens, while those involved in adaptive immunity, such as T-helper cells, are characterized by a slower response and greater specificity (Segerstrom & Miller, 2004).…”

Section: Immune Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome‐wide association study of an unusual dolphin mortality event reveals candidate genes for susceptibility and resistance to cetacean morbillivirus

Batley

Sandoval‐Castillo

Kemper

et al. 2018

Evolutionary Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Infectious diseases are significant demographic and evolutionary drivers of populations, but studies about the genetic basis of disease resistance and susceptibility are scarce in wildlife populations. Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) is a highly contagious disease that is increasing in both geographic distribution and incidence, causing unusual mortality events (UME) and killing tens of thousands of individuals across multiple cetacean species worldwide since the late 1980s. The largest CeMV outbreak in the Southern Hemisphere reported to date occurred in Australia in 2013, where it was a major factor in a UME, killing mainly young Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops aduncus ). Using cases (nonsurvivors) and controls (putative survivors) from the most affected population, we carried out a genome‐wide association study to identify candidate genes for resistance and susceptibility to CeMV. The genomic data set consisted of 278,147,988 sequence reads and 35,493 high‐quality SNPs genotyped across 38 individuals. Association analyses found highly significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies among cases and controls at 65 SNPs, and Random Forests conservatively identified eight as candidates. Annotation of these SNPs identified five candidate genes ( MAPK8 , FBXW11 , INADL , ANK3 and ACOX3 ) with functions associated with stress, pain and immune responses. Our findings provide the first insights into the genetic basis of host defence to this highly contagious disease, enabling the development of an applied evolutionary framework to monitor CeMV resistance across cetacean species. Biomarkers could now be established to assess potential risk factors associated with these genes in other CeMV‐affected cetacean populations and species. These results could also possibly aid in the advancement of vaccines against morbilliviruses.

show abstract

Immunotoxic effects of environmental pollutants in marine mammals

Cited by 287 publications

References 115 publications

20 Years of fish immunotoxicology – what we know and where we are

20 Years of fish immunotoxicology – what we know and where we are

Climate change–contaminant interactions in marine food webs: Toward a conceptual framework

Genome‐wide association study of an unusual dolphin mortality event reveals candidate genes for susceptibility and resistance to cetacean morbillivirus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About