Article (Scientific journals)
Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals
Vanden Berghe, M; Weijs, L; Habran, Sarah et al.
2013In Environmental Research, 120 (18-26)
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
 

Files


Full Text
VandenBerghe_2013_EnvRes.pdf
Publisher postprint (784.73 kB)
Download

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Keywords :
grey seal females; lactation; POPs; metabolites; vitamin A
Abstract :
[en] Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) are considered to be 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 homeostasis 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 ± 9 µg/g wet weight (ww) and 92 ± 32 µg/g ww at early and late lactation, respectively) and serum (408 ± 143 ng/ml and 390 ± 98 ng/ml at early and late lactation, respectively) appeared to be positively related to ΣPCBs, ΣPBDEs and several individual PCB and PBDE congeners in inner blubber and serum. These findings may suggest an enhanced mobilisation of hepatic retinoid stores and a redistribution in the blubber, a storage site for vitamin A in marine mammals, before the onset of lactation. We also reported that serum concentrations of ΣHO-PCBs and 4-OH-CB107 tended to increase 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 homeostasis in the blubber and bloodstream following exposure to environmental pollutants. Previous studies have shown an interesting parallelism between the mobilisation and transfer of vitamin A and those of PCBs in lactating grey seals, contrary to other lipophilic molecules such as vitamin E (Debier et al. 2004; Vanden Berghe et al. 2010). The fact that vitamin A and PCBs appeared to share common mechanisms during this particular physiological state in grey seals (lactation coupled to a total fasting) may also play a role in the different relationships observed between vitamin A and lipophilic pollutants.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Vanden Berghe, M
Weijs, L
Habran, Sarah ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Océanologie
Das, Krishna  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Océanologie
Bugli, C
Pillet, S
Rees, J-F
Pomeroy, P
Covaci, A
Debier, C
Language :
English
Title :
Effects of polychlorobiphenyls, polybromodiphenylethers, organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites on vitamin A status in lactating grey seals
Publication date :
2013
Journal title :
Environmental Research
ISSN :
0013-9351
eISSN :
1096-0953
Publisher :
Elsevier, Atlanta, United States - New York
Volume :
120
Issue :
18-26
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 16 August 2012

Statistics


Number of views
175 (16 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
340 (2 by ULiège)

Scopus citations®
 
26
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
22
OpenCitations
 
23

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi