Dear All,
We are pleased to announce the publication of our
article on chromium and Northern right whales in Mutation Research:
Hexavalent chromium is cytotoxic and genotoxic to the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) lung and testes fibroblasts. John
Pierce Wise, Sandra S. Wise, Scott Kraus, Fariba Shaffiey, Marijke Grau, Tania
Li Chen, Christopher Perkins, W. Douglas Thompson, Tongzhang Zheng, Yawei
Zhang, Tracy Romano and Todd O’Hara. Mutation Research 650:30–38, 2008.
Abstract
Although hexavalent chromium is a known genotoxic
agent in human and terrestrial mammals and is present in seawater and air, its
effects on marine mammals including the endangered North
Atlantic right whale are unknown and untested. The present study
investigated the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of hexavalent chromium in
primary cultured North Atlantic right whale lung and testes fibroblasts and
levels of total chromium in skin biopsies from North
Atlantic right whales. Cytotoxicity was measured by clonogenic
survival assay. Genotoxicity was measured as production of chromosome
aberrations. Tissue chromium levels were determined from skin biopsies of
healthy free-ranging whales in the Bay of Fundy
using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Hexavalent
chromium-induced concentration-dependent increases in right whale lung and
testes fibroblast cytotoxicity with the testes more sensitive to the cytotoxic
effects. It also induced concentration-dependent increases in chromosomal aberrations
in both cell types with no significant difference in sensitivity. Skin biopsy
data indicate that North Atlantic right whales are exposed to chromium and
accumulate a range of 4.9–10 ug Cr/g tissue with a mean of 7.1 ug/g.
Hexavalent chromium is cytotoxic and genotoxic to North
Atlantic right whale cells. The whales have tissue chromium levels
that are concerning. These data support a hypothesis that chromium may be a
concern for the health of the North Atlantic
right whales. Considering these data with chromium chemistry, whale physiology
and atmospheric chromium levels further suggest that inhalation may be an
important exposure route.
Reprint
requests should be addressed to me.
John
John
Pierce Wise, Sr., Ph.D.
Director, Maine Center for Toxicology and Environmental
Health
Professor of Toxicology and Molecular Epidemiology,
Department of Applied Medical Sciences
University of Southern
Maine
96 Falmouth St.
PO Box 9300
Portland, ME
04104-9300