Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in grey seals during their first year of life—are they thyroid hormone endocrine disrupters?

Hall, Ailsa J.; Kalantzi, Olga‐Ioanna; Thomas, Gareth O.

doi:10.1016/s0269-7491(03)00149-0

Cited by 144 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, PCBs and PBDEs share similar chemical properties and comparable adverse effects have been reported in several marine mammal species (Hall et al, 2003;Beineke et al, 2005;Peden-Adams et al, 2005). Furthermore, an impact of PBDEs on the status of vitamin A has been reported in laboratory animals, as well as in birds (Hallgren et al, 2001;Fernie et al, 2005;Ellis-Hutchings et al, 2006;Cesh et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals

Berghe

Weijs

Habran

et al. 2013

Environmental Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tPolychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), are considered as endocrine disruptors in laboratory and wild animals. This study investigated whether these compounds and their hydroxylated metabolites (HO-PCBs and HO-PBDEs) may affect the homoeostasis of vitamin A, a dietary hormone, in the blubber and serum of twenty lactating grey seals sampled at early and late lactation on the Isle of May, Scotland. The effect of naturally produced compounds such as the methoxylated (MeO)-PBDEs was also examined. Vitamin A levels in inner blubber (37 7 9 mg/g wet weight (ww) and 92 7 32 mg/g ww at early and late lactation, respectively) and serum (408 7 143 and 390 7 98 ng/ml at early and late lactation, respectively) appeared to be positively related to SPCBs, SPBDEs and several individual PCB and PBDE congeners in inner blubber and serum. These findings may suggest enhanced mobilisation of hepatic retinoid stores and redistribution in the blubber, a storage site for vitamin A in marine mammals. We have also reported that serum concentrations of SHO-PCBs and 4-OH-CB107 tended to increase with circulating vitamin A levels. Although the direction of the relationships may sometimes differ from those reported in the literature, our results are in agreement with previous findings highlighting a disruption of vitamin A homoeostasis in the blubber and bloodstream following exposure to environmental pollutants. The fact that vitamin A and PCBs appeared to share common mechanisms of mobilisation and transfer during lactation in grey seals (Debier et al., 2004;Vanden Berghe et al., 2010) may also play a role in the different relationships observed between vitamin A and lipophilic pollutants.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals

Berghe

Weijs

Habran

et al. 2013

Environmental Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thyroid hormone levels in the blood of grey seals during their first year of life were significantly correlated to total PBDEs in the blubber (Hall et al 2003). Seals with higher blubber PBDEs had relatively significantly higher blood TT4 and TT3 concentrations (Hall et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Organohalogen compounds such as PCBs and PBDE interact with thyroid hormone expression principally triiodothyronine T3 and thyroxine T4 in fish, rats, and seals (Brouwer et al 1989(Brouwer et al , 1999Braathen et al 2004;Hall et al 1998Hall et al , 2003Woldstad and Jensen 1999;Zhou et al 2000;Debier et al 2005). Because of structural similarities, PCBs congeners (and their hydroxylated metabolites) and thyroid hormones compete for the same binding sites on transport proteins such as transthyretin (TTR) (Brouwer et al 1989(Brouwer et al , 1998.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Interfollicular Fibrosis in the Thyroid of the Harbour Porpoise: An Endocrine Disruption?

Das

Vossen

Tolley

et al. 2006

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Previous studies have described high levels of polychlorobiphenyls (PCB), polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE), toxaphene, p,p 0 -dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and p,p 0 -dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in the blubber of the harbour porpoise from the North Sea raising the question of a potential endocrine disruption in this species. In the present study, the thyroids of 57 harbour porpoises from the German and Danish (North and Baltic Seas), Norwegian, and Icelandic coasts have been collected for histological and immunohistological investigations. The number of follicles and the relative distribution of follicles, connective, and solid tissues (%) were quantified in the thyroid of each individual. Then, the potential relationship between the thyroid morphometry data and previously described organic compounds (namely, PCB, PBDE, toxaphene, DDT, and DDE) was investigated using factor analysis and multiple regressions. Thyroid morphology differed strongly between sampling sites. Porpoises from the German (North and Baltic Seas) and Norwegian coasts displayed a high percentage of connective tissues between 30 and 38% revealing severe interfollicular fibrosis and a high number of large follicles (diameter >200 lm). A correlation-based principal component analysis (PCA) revealed two principal components explaining 85.9% of the total variance. The variables PCB, PBDE, DDT, and DDE compounds loaded highest on PC1 whereas toxaphene compound loaded most on PC2. Our results pointed out a relationship between PC1 (PCBs, PBDE, DDE, and DDT compounds) and interfollicular fibrosis in the harbour porpoise thyroids. Such an association is not alone sufficient for a cause-effect relationship but supports the hypothesis of a contaminant-induced thyroid fibrosis in harbour porpoises raising the question of the longterm viability in highly polluted areas.

show abstract

“…Suckling newborns are thus exposed to high amounts of toxic chemicals, while being in a critical developmental period of their life. Previous studies have shown that pup or juvenile seals exposed to POPs, even to low concentrations, had reduced immune competence and impairment of thyroid hormone and vitamin A homeostasis (Hall et al, 2003;Mos et al, 2007;Simms et al, 2000;Sørmo, 2009). The lactational transfer of PCBs and OCPs in seals is more important at late lactation (Debier et al, 2003b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective transfer of persistent organic pollutants and their metabolites in grey seals during lactation

Berghe

Weijs

Habran

et al. 2012

Environment International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oTwenty grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) mother-pup pairs from the colony of the Isle of May (Scotland) were sampled at early and late lactation in order to study the transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their metabolites (HO-PCBs and HO-PBDEs) as well as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as DDT and metabolites (DDXs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). The transfer of the naturally produced MeO-PBDEs was also investigated. Generally, concentrations (on a lipid weight basis) of the sum of PCBs, PBDEs and DDXs tended to be higher in all tissues at late lactation (for maternal outer blubber ΣPCBs = 3860 ± 2091 ng/g, ΣPBDEs = 120 ± 74 ng/g and ΣDDXs = 559 ± 207 ng/g; for maternal inner blubber ΣPCBs = 4229 ± 3274 ng/g, ΣPBDEs = 148 ± 118 ng/g and ΣDDXs = 704 ± 353 ng/g; for maternal serum ΣPCBs = 1271 ± 796 ng/g, ΣPBDEs = 27 ± 16 ng/g and ΣDDXs = 242 ± 125 ng/g; for milk ΣPCBs = 1190 ± 747 ng/g, ΣPBDEs = 55 ± 36 ng/g and ΣDDXs = 357 ± 160 ng/g; for pup serum ΣPCBs = 1451 ± 901 ng/g, ΣPBDEs = 48 ± 31 ng/g and ΣDDXs = 395 ± 201 ng/g). In all tissues, ΣMeO-PBDEs were found at very low levels or even undetected and their concentrations appeared to increase at late lactation only in maternal inner blubber (2.7 ± 1.3 to 5.3 ± 2.9 ng/g for early and late lactation, respectively) and milk (0.6 ± 0.3 to 1.1 ± 0.5 ng/g for early and late lactation, respectively). The transfer from inner blubber to maternal serum was selective and strongly depended on the log K ow value of the compounds, with less lipophilic compounds being more efficiently released. Only a limited amount of HO-PCBs was transferred during lactation as 4-HO-CB-107 was the only metabolite detected in milk (29 to 40 pg/g lw). On the contrary, most of HO-PCB metabolites found in maternal serum were also detected in pup serum. These findings suggest not only a transplacental transfer of HO-PCBs from mothers to pups but also the possibility of endogenous biotransformation in suckling pups or accumulation of undetectable low amounts from milk.

show abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in grey seals during their first year of life—are they thyroid hormone endocrine disrupters?

Cited by 144 publications

References 29 publications

Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals

Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals

Interfollicular Fibrosis in the Thyroid of the Harbour Porpoise: An Endocrine Disruption?

Selective transfer of persistent organic pollutants and their metabolites in grey seals during lactation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About