Humoral immunity in the chicken as affected by mercury

Ma, Bridger; Jp, Thaxton

doi:10.1007/bf01055000

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Wolfe and Norman (1998) and Elbert and Anderson (1998) report changes in percentages of several white cell types in wild great blue heron (Ardea herodius) nestlings and grebes relative to mercury contamination, but without a total white cell count, increases or decreases in cell type could not be evaluated, nor could they be compared with our study. Increased numbers of peripheral blood heterophils and decreased numbers of lymphocytes were noted in young chickens dosed with inorganic mercury (Bridger and Thaxton, 1983). In vitro studies of mercury toxicity have shown concentrations of methylmercury chloride in the range of 10 Ϫ7 to 10 Ϫ6 M (0.025 to 0.25 mg/ kg) to affect cell viability (LD50) and lymphocyte function in the mouse and human, including reduced mitogenicity responses and inhibited mixed lymphocyte responses (Nakatsuru et al, 1985;Shenker et al, 1992a, b).…”

Section: Hematology and Immunologymentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Only inorganic mercury has been used to test the immune function of birds, domestic chickens being the most commonly studied. Oral dosing of mercuric chloride in domestic broiler chicks resulted in decreased primary and secondary hemagglutinin responses to sheep red blood cells (Thaxton and Parkhurst, 1973;Bridger and Thaxton, 1983), suppressed primary agglutinin responses to Brucella abortus (Bridger and Thaxton, 1983), and decreased agglutinin responses to Salmonella (Thaxton and Parkhurst, 1973). Ilback (1991) noted a decrease in thymus but not spleen weight in methylmercury dosed mice.…”

Section: Hematology and Immunologymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Histologic, Neurologic, and Immunologic Effects of Methylmercury in Captive Great Egrets

Spalding

Frederick

McGill

et al. 2000

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

115

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Captive great egret (Ardea albus) nestlings were maintained as controls or were dosed with methylmercury chloride at low (0.5), and high doses (5 mg/kg, wet weight) in fish. Low dosed birds were given methylmercury at concentrations comparable to current exposure of wild birds in the Everglades (Florida, USA). When compared with controls, low dosed birds had lower packed cell volumes, dingy feathers, increased lymphocytic cuffing in a skin test, increased bone marrow cellularity, decreased bursal wall thickness, decreased thymic lobule size, fewer lymphoid aggregates in lung, increased perivascular edema in lung, and decreased phagocytized carbon in lung. High dosed birds became severely ataxic and had severe hematologic, neurologic, and histologic changes. The most severe lesions were in immune and nervous system tissues. By comparing responses in captive and wild birds, we found that sublethal effects of mercury were detected at lower levels in captive than in wild birds, probably due to the reduced sources of variation characteristic of the highly controlled laboratory study. Conversely, thresholds for more severe changes (death, disease) occurred at lower concentrations in wild birds than in captive birds, probably because wild birds were exposed to multiple stressors. Thus caution should be used in applying lowest observed effect levels between captive and wild studies.

show abstract

Section: Hematology and Immunologymentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Hematology and Immunologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Histologic, Neurologic, and Immunologic Effects of Methylmercury in Captive Great Egrets

Spalding

Frederick

McGill

et al. 2000

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

115

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…MeHg at a single dose of 10 ppm administered orally for 10 weeks resulted in decreased antibody levels to pseudorabies and influenza viruses in the rabbit with a NOAEL of 1 ppm (60). Likewise, HgCl2 at doses of 250 and 500 ppm administered to chickens orally for 35 days or at 300 pg/ml for 11 weeks diminished their ability to produce specific IgM and IgG antibodies to SRBC (61,62). A NOAEL of 125 (63,64).…”

Section: Experimenal Studies In Vivomentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunotoxicity of heavy metals in relation to Great Lakes.

Bernier

Brousseau

Krzystyniak

et al. 1995

Environ Health Perspect

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Heavy metals including mercury, lead, and cadmium are present throughout the ecosystem and are detectable in small amounts in the Great Lakes water and fish. The main route of exposure of humans to these metals is via the ingestion of contaminated food, especially fish. Extensive experimental investigations indicated that heavy metals alter a number of parameters of the host's immune system and lead to increased susceptibility to infections, autoimmune diseases, and allergic manifestations. The existing limited epidemiologic data and data derived from in vitro systems in which human peripheral blood leukocytes were used suggested that the human immune system may also be at increased risk following exposure to these metals. The magnitude of the risk that the presence of such metals in the Great Lakes may pose to the human immune system, and consequently to their health, is not known. In this review, the available data with respect to potential adverse effects of heavy metals on the immune system of humans and experimental animals are discussed, and additional data requirements are suggested. Environ Health Perspect 103(Suppl 9): 23-34 (1995)

show abstract

“…Mercury (in the form of mercuric chloride) has been shown to cause thymic degeneration, directly reducing thymocyte numbers and compromising lymphocyte development and function (Briggs et al, 1996). An early study with chickens exposed to inorganic mercury showed no immune system effects until systemically toxic exposure levels were reached (Bridger & Thaxton, 1983). More recently, an ex vivo exposure of bald eagle (Haliaectus leucocephalus) lymphocytes was suggestive of depressed lymphocyte blastogenesis when exposed to either the organic and inorganic forms of mercury (Audet et al, 2000).…”

Section: Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Immunotoxicology

Fairbrother

Smits

Grasman

2004

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B

122

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Methods for studying the avian immune system have matured during the past two decades, with laboratory studies predominating in earlier years and field studies being conducted only in the past decade. One application has been to determine the potential for environmental contaminants to produce immune suppression, while another research direction is looking at the evolutionary significance of a robust immune system, and the relationship between immune competence and fitness parameters. Laboratory studies of immunosuppression following exposure of birds to environmental contaminants have adapted conventional mammalian methods to the avian immune system, and both lines of research have developed field-deployable measures of immune function. This review describes the avian immune system with emphasis on how it differs from the better known mammalian system, reviews the literature on contaminant-induced immunosuppression, and discusses the work on evolutionary biology of avian immunocompetence. Evidence indicates that the field of avian immunology is technically robust, even for nontraditional species such as passerines, seabirds, raptors, and other free-ranging species. It is now possible to screen chemicals for immunotoxicological properties following the same tiered approach that has been established for mammals. Despite the increased capacity and interest in avian field studies, there has not yet been a reported study of measured immune suppression associated with an avian epizootic. It is more likely that the immune suppression in adult birds resulting from low-level chronic stress (e.g., crowding onto poor quality habitat, food reductions, or climate stress) and (or) environmental contaminants causes slow but consistent morbidity and mortality associated with multiple pathogens, rather than an acute epizootic with a single pathogen. Increased fitness costs associated with such stress may significantly alter genetic diversity and species survival over time.

show abstract

Humoral immunity in the chicken as affected by mercury

Cited by 20 publications

References 9 publications

Histologic, Neurologic, and Immunologic Effects of Methylmercury in Captive Great Egrets

Histologic, Neurologic, and Immunologic Effects of Methylmercury in Captive Great Egrets

Immunotoxicity of heavy metals in relation to Great Lakes.

Avian Immunotoxicology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About