PCB-related alteration of thyroid hormones and thyroid hormone receptor gene expression in free-ranging harbor seals (Phoca vitulina).

ABSTRACT: Persistent organic pollutants are environmental contaminants that, because of their lipophilic properties and long half-lives, bioaccumulate within aquatic food webs and often reach high concentrations in marine mammals, such as harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Exposure to these contaminants has been associated with developmental abnormalities, immunotoxicity, and reproductive impairment in marine mammals and other high-trophic-level wildlife, mediated via a disruption of endocrine processes. The highly conserved thyroid hormones (THs) represent one vulnerable endocrine end point that is critical for metabolism, growth, and development in vertebrates. We characterized the relationship between contaminants and specific TH receptor (TR) gene expression in skin/blubber biopsy samples, as well a

SUBMITTER: Tabuchi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1513321 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature