PMID- 36940419
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20230405
LR  - 20230411
IS  - 1520-5851 (Electronic)
IS  - 0013-936X (Print)
IS  - 0013-936X (Linking)
VI  - 57
IP  - 13
DP  - 2023 Apr 4
TI  - Mercury-Modulated Immune Responses in Arctic Barnacle Goslings (Branta leucopsis) 
      upon a Viral-Like Immune Challenge.
PG  - 5337-5348
LID - 10.1021/acs.est.2c07622 [doi]
AB  - Historical mining activities in Svalbard (79 degrees N/12 degrees E) have caused local mercury 
      (Hg) contamination. To address the potential immunomodulatory effects of 
      environmental Hg on Arctic organisms, we collected newborn barnacle goslings 
      (Branta leucopsis) and herded them in either a control or mining site, differing 
      in Hg levels. An additional group at the mining site was exposed to extra 
      inorganic Hg(II) via supplementary feed. Hepatic total Hg concentrations differed 
      significantly between the control (0.011 +/- 0.002 mg/kg dw), mine (0.043 +/- 0.011 
      mg/kg dw), and supplementary feed (0.713 +/- 0.137 mg/kg dw) gosling groups 
      (average +/- standard deviation). Upon immune challenge with double-stranded RNA 
      (dsRNA) injection, endpoints for immune responses and oxidative stress were 
      measured after 24 h. Our results indicated that Hg exposure modulated the immune 
      responses in Arctic barnacle goslings upon a viral-like immune challenge. 
      Increased exposure to both environmental as well as supplemental Hg reduced the 
      level of natural antibodies, suggesting impaired humoral immunity. Hg exposure 
      upregulated the expression of proinflammatory genes in the spleen, including 
      inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and interleukin 18 (IL18), suggesting 
      Hg-induced inflammatory effects. Exposure to Hg also oxidized glutathione (GSH) 
      to glutathione disulfide (GSSG); however, goslings were capable of maintaining 
      the redox balance by de novo synthesis of GSH. These adverse effects on the 
      immune responses indicated that even exposure to low, environmentally relevant 
      levels of Hg might affect immune competence at the individual level and might 
      even increase the susceptibility of the population to infections.
FAU - Han, Biyao
AU  - Han B
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7134-8456
AD  - Wageningen University, Division of Toxicology, Postal code 8000, NL-6700 EA 
      Wageningen, The Netherlands.
FAU - van den Berg, Hans
AU  - van den Berg H
AD  - Wageningen University, Division of Toxicology, Postal code 8000, NL-6700 EA 
      Wageningen, The Netherlands.
FAU - Loonen, Maarten J J E
AU  - Loonen MJJE
AD  - University of Groningen, Arctic Centre, Aweg 30, NL-9718 CW Groningen, The 
      Netherlands.
FAU - Mateo, Rafael
AU  - Mateo R
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-1307-9152
AD  - Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos (IREC), Ronda de Toledo, 12, 
      13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
FAU - van den Brink, Nico W
AU  - van den Brink NW
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7959-3344
AD  - Wageningen University, Division of Toxicology, Postal code 8000, NL-6700 EA 
      Wageningen, The Netherlands.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20230320
PL  - United States
TA  - Environ Sci Technol
JT  - Environmental science & technology
JID - 0213155
RN  - FXS1BY2PGL (Mercury)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Geese/metabolism
MH  - *Thoracica/metabolism
MH  - *Mercury
MH  - Svalbard
MH  - Arctic Regions
MH  - Immunity
PMC - PMC10077589
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - arctic
OT  - avian
OT  - barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis)
OT  - exposure and effect
OT  - immune toxicity
OT  - mercury
COIS- The authors declare no competing financial interest.
EDAT- 2023/03/21 06:00
MHDA- 2023/04/05 06:42
PMCR- 2023/04/06
CRDT- 2023/03/20 16:32
PHST- 2023/04/05 06:42 [medline]
PHST- 2023/03/21 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/03/20 16:32 [entrez]
PHST- 2023/04/06 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1021/acs.est.2c07622 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Apr 4;57(13):5337-5348. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07622. 
      Epub 2023 Mar 20.