Lead exposure is related to higher infection rate with the gapeworm in Norwegian house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Autor: Khan EA; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. Electronic address: essa.a.khan@ntnu.no., Greve M; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Russell I; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Ciesielski TM; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Lundregan S; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Jensen H; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Rønning B; Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Bones AM; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Asimakopoulos AG; Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway., Waugh CA; Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Norway., Jaspers VLB; Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) [Environ Pollut] 2024 Mar 01; Vol. 344, pp. 123443. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 24.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123443
Abstrakt: Anthropogenic pollution is identified as an important threat to bird and other wildlife populations. Many metals and toxic elements, along with poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are known to induce immunomodulation and have previously been linked to increased pathogen prevalence and infectious disease severity. In this study, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) was investigated at the coast of Helgeland in northern Norway. This population is commonly infected with the parasitic nematode "gapeworm" (Syngamus trachea), with a prevalence of 40-60 % during summer months. Gapeworm induces severe respiratory disease in birds and has been previously demonstrated to decrease survival and reproductive success in wild house sparrows. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a higher exposure to pollution with PFASs, metals and other elements influences gapeworm infection in wild house sparrows. We conducted PFASs and elemental analysis on whole blood from 52 house sparrows from Helgeland, including analyses of highly toxic metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As). In addition, we studied gapeworm infection load by counting the parasite eggs in faeces from each individual. We also studied the expression of microRNA 155 (miR155) as a key regulator in the immune system. Elevated blood concentrations of Pb were found to be associated with an increased prevalence of gapeworm infection in the house sparrow. The expression of miR155 in the plasma of the house sparrow was only weakly associated with Pb. In contrast, we found relatively low PFASs concentrations in the house sparrow blood (∑ PFASs 0.00048-354 μg/L) and PFASs were not associated to miR155 nor infection rate. The current study highlights the potential threat posed by Pb as an immunotoxic pollutant in small songbirds.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Essa Ahsan Khan reports financial support was provided by Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Henrik Jensen and Veerle L.B. Jaspers reports financial support was provided by Research Council of Norway. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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