PM11 Wildlife Ecotoxicology
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday
(PM191) Perfluorinated hydrocarbons measured in sea turtle blood correlate to modulations in plasma chemistry values and immune function measurements.
Peden-Adams, M1, Kannan, K2, Hessemann, L1, EuDaly, J1, Kucklick, J1, 3, Arendt, M4, Maier, P4, Segars, A4, Whitaker, J4, Keller, J3, 1 Marine Biomedicine and Environmental Science Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA2 Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology , SUNY, Albany, NY, USA3 National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC, USA4 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, Charleston, SC, USA
ABSTRACT- The finding of perfluorinated hydrocarbon compounds (PFCs) in wildlife and humans has become a concern in the last 5 years. PFCs have been measured in blood samples from both wildlife and humans; however, the health effects of these compounds have not been adequately assessed to date. Generally, prior research has suggested that the levels found in wildlife may not be detrimental as they are below the level for observable effects in rodents. The purpose of this study was to determine if biomarkers of immune function and clinical blood parameters in sea turtles were affected by perfluorinated hydrocarbons such as perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Whole blood and plasma samples were collected from 67 juvenile loggerhead and 5 Kemps ridley turtles along the North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coasts between the end of May and the end of July 2003. Perfluorinated hydrocarbon concentrations (in plasma) and immune parameters (lymphocyte proliferation and plasma lysozyme activity) were measured in non-lethal blood samples from wild-caught turtles. In the loggerhead sea turtles, T-cell proliferation correlated positively with PFOS, perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA), perfluorodecanoic acid and total PFCs. In the Kemps ridley sea turtles, B-cell proliferation correlated positively with PFOS, PFHxS and total PFCs, while T-cell proliferation correlated positively with PFDoA and negatively with perfluorononanoic acid. Hematology and plasma chemistries were measured in 22 of the loggerhead sea turtles and packed cell volume (PCV), total plasma protein and blood glucose were measured in the 5 Kemps ridley sea turtles. In loggerhead turtles, relationships between health indicators and most all individual compounds and also total PFCs included significant positive correlations with AST, globulin, glucose, potassium, total protein and urea nitrogen. In the Kemps ridley turtles, significant positive correlations were seen with glucose, PCV, and total protein. These data indicate that even low levels of fluorinated organic compounds (106 ng/mL) may alter biomarkers of health in sea turtles and that further efforts should be made to assess health and risk of sea turtles in relationship to these compounds.
Key words: PFOS, loggerhead sea turtle, PFOA, Kemp's ridley sea turtle