Immunotoxical evaluation of St. Lawrence beluga whales (Deiphinapterus leucas)
- Univ. du Quebec, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
- Univ. de Montreal, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec (Canada)
An isolated population of beluga whales live in the St. Lawrence estuary. From approximately 5,000 at the beginning of the century, they now number 500 and their number has not increased since the last 10 years. High concentrations of environmental contaminants including organohalogens (mostly PCBs and DDT), as well as heavy metals (mostly mercury and lead) and HAP exposure have been demonstrated in tissues of these animals. A high incidence of diverse and severe lesions including infections with mildly pathogenic bacteria and numerous tumors were found upon examination of carcasses from the same population. An immunotoxicological evaluation of St. Lawrence beluga whales compared to relatively unpolluted Arctic animals was undertaken to study the possibility of a contaminants induced immunosuppression which would explain the diversity and severity of those lesions. As a first step, several assays were developed to evaluate immune functions in beluga whales, and baseline data were established using Arctic animals. In vitro exposure of Arctic beluga lymphocytes to single contaminants present in St. Lawrence beluga blubber were also performed and showed a suppression of proliferation of lymphocytes with concentrations of mercury below those found in liver of adult St. Lawrence animals. Animal models were also developed to evaluate the immunotoxic potential of the mixture of contaminants found in blubber of St. Lawrence belugas. Rats were fed lipids from either St. Lawrence or Arctic belugas or a mixture of the two groups, and immune functions will be evaluated in these animals. Finally, the last step of the study will be to catch belugas in the St. Lawrence, evaluate their immune functions, compare them to those of Arctic animals and relate them to concentrations of the different contaminants measured in their blubber and plasma.
- OSTI ID:
- 244876
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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