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Serum Protein Profile and Blood Cell Counts in Adult Toads Bufo Arenarum (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae): Effects of Sublethal Lead Acetate

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Abstract

Lead is a multiple-source pollutant, well known for its toxicity, of great risk both for the environment and human health. The main target organs of lead are the hematopoietic, nervous, and renal systems; there are also reports in support of its impairment effects on the reproductive and immune systems. It is well known that most of the metal is accumulated in the blood cells and that many of the deleterious effects are related to its circulating concentrations. These adverse effects have been described not only in humans but also in a number of other vertebrates such as fish and birds. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the effects of weekly administration of sublethal Pb (as acetate, 50 mg ċ kg−1) during 6 weeks on the profile of the serum proteins and blood cell counts of the adult South American toad, Bufo arenarum (Anura: Bufonidae). The electrophoretic patterns of serum proteins pointed out the presence of four fractions; the metal provoked a significant decrease in both total proteins and albumin fraction; among the globulin fractions, the G3 resulted augmented. These findings may be related to the impact of lead on the toads’ hepatic cells and immune system. The number of total red blood cells (RBC) showed a tendency to decrease after the injections of the metal, whereas the number of white blood cells (WBC) increased significantly; the differential leukocyte counts showed a statistically significant increase in the absolute number and in the relative percentage of blast-like cells. The decrease in RBC was attributed to the negative impact of the metals on the hemoglobin synthesis. The increasing of the WBC counts may be interpreted as a consequence of the induction of proliferation of pluripotential hematopoietic cells.

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Acknowledgments

C.E. Rosenberg was a research Fellow of CIC-Buenos Aires. The authors wish to thank Carina Apartin for her collaboration in the determination of Pb, Marisa Sanguinetti for her assistance in reviewing English language, and Ana M. Martínez for the preparation of the manuscript. This work was supported by the UNLP and the CIC-Buenos Aires. Wiener Lab, Argentina, kindly provided the reagents for serum protein determination.

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  1. Cátedra de Hematología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 47 y 115, 1900-La Plata, Argentina

    María E. Chiesa, Carolina E. Rosenberg & Nilda E. Fink

  2. Carrera del Investigador Científico Tecnológico, and Programa de Ecofisiología Aplicada, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Universidad Nacional de Luján, 1900-La Plata, 6700-Luján, Argentina

    Alfredo Salibián

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  1. María E. Chiesa
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  2. Carolina E. Rosenberg
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  3. Nilda E. Fink
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  4. Alfredo Salibián
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Correspondence to Nilda E. Fink.

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Chiesa, M.E., Rosenberg, C.E., Fink, N.E. et al. Serum Protein Profile and Blood Cell Counts in Adult Toads Bufo Arenarum (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae): Effects of Sublethal Lead Acetate. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 50, 384–391 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0252-4

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