METAL SENSITIVITY OF MARINE MAMMALS: A CASE STUDY OF A GRAY SEAL (HALICHOERUS GRYPUS)

Kakuschke, Antje; Valentine-Thon, Elizabeth; Fonfara, Sonja; Griesel, Simone; Siebert, Ursula; Prange, Andreas

doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2006.00059.x

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The immunosuppressive influence of metals on parameters of cellular immunity was investigated for several marine mammal species [35][36][37][38][39]. A study on harbor seal pups, in particular, suggests a higher susceptibility to toxic effects of metals on precursor stages of immune cells isolated from blood of newborns and a decreased susceptibility when the pups were older [1].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

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: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…IL-2 was investigated in northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris; Shoda et al, 1998), grey seals (St-Laurent et al, 1999) and harbor seals (Di Molfetto-Landon et al, 1995). IL-2 and IL-4 was used to characterize metalspecific hypersensitivities in a grey seal (Kakuschke et al, 2006). IL-6-like activities and sequencing of IL-6 cDNA fragments was performed for harbor and grey seals (King et al, 1993(King et al, , 1996.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytokine and acute phase protein expression in blood samples of harbour seal pups

Fonfara

Kakuschke²,

Rosenberger³

et al. 2008

Mar Biol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similarly, in human and murine lymphocytes, DNA synthesis decreased at 5 × 10 -4 M of Zn ions (Berger & Skinner, 1974) and 10 -4 M of ZnCl2 (Lawrence, 1981), respectively. The decrease in proliferation of T lymphocytes occurs after an exposure to Zn at concentrations similar to those found in the blood of grey seals (3,150 µg/L = 4.82 × 10 -5 M) (Kakuschke et al, 2006). Cadmium (Cd) is regarded as one of the most toxic heavy metals; however, few studies on its toxic effects have been conducted in marine mammals, despite high levels encountered in several species (Das et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

T Lymphocyte-Proliferative Responses of a Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) Exposed to Heavy Metals and PCBs in Vitro

Frouin¹,

Ménard²,

Measures³

et al. 2010

aquatic mammals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated in vitro the effects of methylmercury chloride (CH3HgCl), zinc chloride (ZnCl2), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), lead acetate (Pb(C2H3O2)2), and PCBs (Aroclor mixtures) on the proliferation of T lymphocytes from the thymus, lymph node, and blood from one female grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) juvenile. After exposure to heavy metals, a dose-response curve was observed with a decrease in proliferation of both T lymphocytes from blood and the lymph node. Exposure to Aroclor mixtures led to a mostly reduced proliferation of thymocytes and T lymphocytes from the lymph node and blood. Lymph node cells seem less sensitive to heavy metals than peripheral blood lymphocytes. Lymph node lymphocytes are more sensitive to PCBs than peripheral blood lymphocytes but less than thymocytes. These results suggest that the sensitivity of T lymphocytes from one grey seal to contaminants may be due to inherent tissue/matrix differences in the sensitivity of these cells to contaminants; however, an individual response cannot be excluded in the present case. That is, samples from a single individual are not extrapolated to the species as a whole in this paper but discussed relative to exposure response by tissues.

show abstract

METAL SENSITIVITY OF MARINE MAMMALS: A CASE STUDY OF A GRAY SEAL (HALICHOERUS GRYPUS)

Cited by 30 publications

References 33 publications

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

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

Cytokine and acute phase protein expression in blood samples of harbour seal pups

T Lymphocyte-Proliferative Responses of a Grey Seal (<I>Halichoerus grypus</I>) Exposed to Heavy Metals and PCBs <I>in Vitro</I>

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About