@article{guillette_jackson_guillette_mccord_belcher_2022, title={Blood concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are associated with autoimmune-like effects in American alligators from Wilmington, North Carolina}, volume={4}, ISSN={["2673-3080"]}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2022.1010185}, DOI={10.3389/ftox.2022.1010185}, abstractNote={Surface and groundwater of the Cape Fear River basin in central and coastal North Carolina is contaminated with high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Elevated levels of PFAS have also been found in blood of fish and wildlife from the Cape Fear River, and in the blood of human populations reliant on contaminated well or surface water from the Cape Fear River basin as a source of drinking water. While the public and environmental health impacts of long-term PFAS exposures are poorly understood, elevated blood concentrations of some PFAS are linked with immunotoxicity and increased incidence of some chronic autoimmune diseases in human populations. The goal of this One Environmental Health study was to evaluate PFAS exposure and biomarkers related to immune health in populations of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), a protected and predictive sentinel species of adverse effects caused by persistent toxic pollutants. We found that serum PFAS concentrations in alligator populations from the Cape Fear River were increased compared to a reference population of alligators from the adjoining Lumber River basin. The elevated serum PFAS concentrations in the Cape Fear River alligators were associated with increased innate immune activities, and autoimmune-like phenotypes in this population. In addition to evidence of significantly higher double stranded-DNA binding autoantibodies in adult Cape Fear River alligators, our qRT-PCR analysis found remarkably high induction of Interferon-α signature genes implicated in the pathology of human autoimmune disease. We interpret the association of increased PFAS exposure with disrupted immune functions to suggest that PFAS broadly alters immune activities resulting in autoimmune-like pathology in American alligators. This work substantiates and extends evidence from experimental models and human epidemiology studies showing that some PFAS are immune toxicants.}, journal={FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY}, publisher={Frontiers Media SA}, author={Guillette, T. C. and Jackson, Thomas W. and Guillette, Matthew and McCord, James and Belcher, Scott M.}, year={2022}, month={Oct} }
 @article{belcher_guillette_robb_rock_2022, title={Comparative assessment of blood mercury in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from Coastal North Carolina and Florida}, volume={8}, ISSN={["1573-3017"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02573-z}, DOI={10.1007/s10646-022-02573-z}, abstractNote={Mercury (Hg) is a widespread and harmful persistent pollutant of aquatic ecosystems. Except for the northern most populations of American alligators (Alligator Mississippiensis) found in North Carolina, the potential adverse health impacts of Hg on ecosystems and humans consuming alligator meat have been studied for over three decades. Now that alligators are being recreationally hunted and consumed across their range, it is especially important to monitor toxic contaminant levels to best understand possible adverse impacts of exposures on alligator populations and human health. In this study, we determined blood Hg concentrations in American alligators from an urbanized site in Wilmington, NC, a nearby site at Lake Waccamaw, NC, and a site on the St Johns River in Florida. Median blood total Hg (tHg) concentrations were particularly high at Lake Waccamaw (526 ng/g, range 152–946 ng/g), resulting in median muscle concentrations (0.48 mg/kg, range 0.13–0.88 mg/kg) well above US EPA screening values for fish consumption. Median concentrations at the Wilmington site (69 ng/g, range 22–336 ng/g) were generally low, and Hg concentrations from the St Johns River site (143 ng/g, range 54–244 ng/g) were comparable to those reported in previous studies. Analysis of relationships between tHg concentrations and a panel of blood chemistry biomarkers found only modest concentration-dependent impact on biomarkers of renal function. The results of this study reveal that local environmental factors greatly impact Hg bioaccumulation in alligators, findings that reaffirm local contaminant biomonitoring in alligator populations will be critical for affective management and determination of guidelines for safe consumption of harvested alligators.}, journal={ECOTOXICOLOGY}, publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC}, author={Belcher, Scott M. and Guillette, Matthew P. and Robb, Frank and Rock, Kylie D.}, year={2022}, month={Aug} }