Effects of In Vitro Exposure of Beluga Whale Lymphocytes to Heavy Metals
IAAAM Archive
Sylvain De Guise1,2; Jacques Bernier1; Daniel Martineau3; Pierre Beland2; Michel Fournier1
1TOXEN, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Montreal, (Quebec), Canada 2St. Lawrence National Institute of Ecotoxicology, Montreal, (Quebec)' 3Faculte de Medecine Veterinaire, Universite de Montreal, St-Hyacinthe, (Quebec)

The effects of in vitro exposure of beluga whale splenocytes and thymocytes to different concentrations of mercury chloride (HgCl2), cadmium chloride (CdC12 and lead chloride (PbCl2) were evaluated. The cells were cultured for 66 hours with either concanavalin A (Con-A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), or without mitogen, after which percentage of cell death and proliferation were evaluated. Increased percentage of dead cells was observed in Con-A-stimulated thymocytes cultures with HgCl2, while the viability of splenocytes was not affected by exposure to metals. Decreased sp] endocyte and thymocyte proliferation was observed with the highest concentration of HgCl2 and CdCl2 (10-5 M), while lower concentrations of these metals (10-6 and 10-7M) as well as all the different concentrations of PbC12 (10-4, 10-5 and 10-6 M) did not influence significantly cell proliferation. Methyl-mercury affected cell proliferation at concentrations 10 times lower than mercury chloride. Concentrations of metals that were found to affect the proliferation of beluga lymphocytes are similar to those found in the liver of beluga whales from wild populations.

Speaker Information
(click the speaker's name to view other papers and abstracts submitted by this speaker)

Sylvain De Guise, DMV, MSc, PhD
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
Davis, CA, USA


MAIN : Session IV : Beluga Whale Lymphocytes
Powered By VIN
SAID=27