Permanence of Suppression of the Primary Immune Response in Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri, Sublethally Exposed to Tritiated Water during Embryogenesis

Previous experiments demonstrated that antibody synthesis in response to a challenge from the bacterium, Flexibacter columnaris, was significantly suppressed in juvenile (5 months) rainbow trout following exposure to tritium at doses as low as 4.0 rad when administered during the first 20 days of em...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation research 1982-09, Vol.91 (3), p.533-541
Main Authors: Strand, John A., Fujihara, M. Paul, Poston, Ted M., Abernethy, C. Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglutinins
Animals
Antibody Formation
Bacterial Vaccines - immunology
Bacterial Vaccines - pharmacology
Dosage
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Embryogenesis
Fishes - embryology
Fishes - immunology
Immune response
Immunity, Innate - radiation effects
Ponds
Radiation dosage
Radiation Injuries - immunology
Time Factors
Tritium
Trout
Vaccination
Yearlings
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Summary:Previous experiments demonstrated that antibody synthesis in response to a challenge from the bacterium, Flexibacter columnaris, was significantly suppressed in juvenile (5 months) rainbow trout following exposure to tritium at doses as low as 4.0 rad when administered during the first 20 days of embryogenesis. In continuing studies, a secondary challenge to columnaris cells delivered to yearling (17 months) trout was used to test the hypothesis that early embryonic exposure to tritium irradiation (0, 0.04, 0.4, 4.0, and 40.0 rad) resulted in permanent injury to the primary immune process. Results indicated that under the prescribed experimental conditions, suppression of the primary immune response was permanent; that is, the degree of injury in yearling fish (17 months) equaled or exceeded that found in juvenile fish (5 months). At levels in the range of the maximum permissible concentration, tritium produced measurable, dose-dependent, and irreversible suppression of immune capacity in affected fish. The threshold-free and exponential nature of the dose-response curve suggests extrapolation of effects to even lower exposures.
ISSN:0033-7587
1938-5404
DOI:10.2307/3575890