Human Health Implications of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids in Blubber of the Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)

Concerns exist regarding the health and nutrition of subsistence-based communities in Alaska. An apparent increase in diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other disease conditions among Alaska Natives has accompanied their change from a traditional diet to a more “Western” diet. In northern Alaska, the meat, maktak (epidermis and blubber), and other products of bowhead whales provide important components of Native diets. This study assessed the fatty acid constituents of bowhead whale blubber to evaluate their possible health benefits. Working with hunters in Barrow, Alaska, we acquired samples for chemical analysis from five blubber depths at each of six body locations. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of fatty-acid picolinyl esters to confirm the fatty-acid composition of samples. Analyses indicated that bowhead blubber contains relatively high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and that, on average, blubber samples from sites at the umbilical girth contain more omega-3 fatty acids than do samples from a girth 1 m caudal to the blowhole (roughly at the axillary girth). Omega-6 fatty acids were rare or undetectable in all samples. Omega-3 fatty acids have been suggested or shown to be important in the treatment or prevention of many diseases, including elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and some cancers. Beyond the cultural benefits associated with subsistence hunting of bowhead whales, consumption of bowhead whale blubber provides some important health and nutritional benefits.Il existe des inquiétudes quant à la santé et à l’alimentation des collectivités basées sur la subsistance en Alaska. L’augmentation apparente du diabète, des maladies cardiaques, des cas d’obésité et d’autres maladies chez les Autochtones de l’Alaska va de pair avec leur passage d’un régime alimentaire traditionnel à un régime plus « occidental ». Dans le nord de l’Alaska, la viande, maktak (épiderme et petit lard), et d’autres produits de la baleine boréale représentent d’importantes composantes du régime alimentaire des Autochtones. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous nous sommes penchés sur les composants en acides gras du petit lard de la baleine boréale et ce, afin de déterminer leurs bienfaits possibles sur la santé. De concert avec des chasseurs de Barrow, en Alaska, nous avons prélevé des échantillons de cinq épaisseurs de petit lard provenant de chacun de six endroits différents du corps afin d’en faire l’analyse chimique. Nous avons utilisé la chromatographie en phase gazeuse et la spectrométrie de masse d’esters picoliniques d’acides gras pour confirmer la composition en acides gras des échantillons. Les analyses laissaient supposer que le petit lard de la baleine boréale a une teneur relativement élevée en acides gras oméga-3 et, qu’en moyenne, les échantillons de petit lard provenant des endroits situés à la hauteur ombilicale renferment de plus grandes quantités d’acides gras oméga-3 que les échantillons provenant d’un endroit situé 1 m de la queue jusqu’à l’évent (environ à la hauteur axillaire). Dans tous les échantillons, les acides gras oméga-6 se faisaient rares, voire même indécelables. Certaines recherches portent à croire ou démontrent que les acides gras oméga-3 jouent un rôle important dans le traitement ou la prévention de nombreuses maladies, dont l’hypertension artérielle, le taux de cholestérol élevé, les maladies du coeur, les accidents cérébrovasculaires, le diabète, l’arthrite, la dépression et certains cancers. En plus des avantages culturels liés à la chasse de subsistance de la baleine boréale, la consommation du petit lard de la baleine boréale présente d’importants avantages du point de vue de la santé et de l’alimentation

Dispersed Crude Oil Induces Dysbiosis In the Red Snapper \u3ci\u3eLutjanus campechanus\u3c/i\u3e External Microbiota

The fish external microbiota competitively excludes primary pathogens and prevents the proliferation of opportunists. A shift from healthy microbiota composition, known as dysbiosis, may be triggered by environmental stressors and increases host susceptibility to disease. The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was a significant stressor event in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite anecdotal reports of skin lesions on fishes following the oil spill, little information is available on the impact of dispersed oil on the fish external microbiota. In this study, juvenile red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) were exposed to a chemically enhanced water-accommodated fraction (CEWAF) of Corexit 9500/DWH oil (CEWAF) and/or the bacterial pathogen Vibrio anguillarum in treatments designed to detect changes in and recovery of the external microbiota. In fish chronically exposed to CEWAF, immunoglobulin M (IgM) expression significantly decreased between 2 and 4 weeks of exposure, coinciding with elevated liver total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Dysbiosis was detected on fish chronically exposed to CEWAF compared to seawater controls, and addition of a pathogen challenge altered the final microbiota composition. Dysbiosis was prevented by returning fish to clean seawater for 21 days after 1 week of CEWAF exposure. Four fish exhibited lesions during the trial, all of which were exposed to CEWAF but not all of which were exposed to V. anguillarum. This study indicates that month-long exposure to dispersed oil leads to dysbiosis in the external microbiota. As the microbiota is vital to host health, these effects should be considered when determining the total impacts of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems

A review of the toxicology of oil in vertebrates : what we have learned following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. This publication is UMCES contribution No. 6045 and Ref. No. [UMCES] CBL 2022-008. This is National Marine Mammal Foundation Contribution #314 to peer-reviewed scientific literature.In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, a number of government agencies, academic institutions, consultants, and nonprofit organizations conducted lab- and field-based research to understand the toxic effects of the oil. Lab testing was performed with a variety of fish, birds, turtles, and vertebrate cell lines (as well as invertebrates); field biologists conducted observations on fish, birds, turtles, and marine mammals; and epidemiologists carried out observational studies in humans. Eight years after the spill, scientists and resource managers held a workshop to summarize the similarities and differences in the effects of DWH oil on vertebrate taxa and to identify remaining gaps in our understanding of oil toxicity in wildlife and humans, building upon the cross-taxonomic synthesis initiated during the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Across the studies, consistency was found in the types of toxic response observed in the different organisms. Impairment of stress responses and adrenal gland function, cardiotoxicity, immune system dysfunction, disruption of blood cells and their function, effects on locomotion, and oxidative damage were observed across taxa. This consistency suggests conservation in the mechanisms of action and disease pathogenesis. From a toxicological perspective, a logical progression of impacts was noted: from molecular and cellular effects that manifest as organ dysfunction, to systemic effects that compromise fitness, growth, reproductive potential, and survival. From a clinical perspective, adverse health effects from DWH oil spill exposure formed a suite of signs/symptomatic responses that at the highest doses/concentrations resulted in multi-organ system failure.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Clinical and virological characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a German tertiary care centre during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a prospective observational study

Purpose: Adequate patient allocation is pivotal for optimal resource management in strained healthcare systems, and requires detailed knowledge of clinical and virological disease trajectories. The purpose of this work was to identify risk factors associated with need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), to analyse viral kinetics in patients with and without IMV and to provide a comprehensive description of clinical course. Methods: A cohort of 168 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients enrolled in a prospective observational study at a large European tertiary care centre was analysed. Results: Forty-four per cent (71/161) of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Shorter duration of symptoms before admission (aOR 1.22 per day less, 95% CI 1.10-1.37, p < 0.01) and history of hypertension (aOR 5.55, 95% CI 2.00-16.82, p < 0.01) were associated with need for IMV. Patients on IMV had higher maximal concentrations, slower decline rates, and longer shedding of SARS-CoV-2 than non-IMV patients (33 days, IQR 26-46.75, vs 18 days, IQR 16-46.75, respectively, p < 0.01). Median duration of hospitalisation was 9 days (IQR 6-15.5) for non-IMV and 49.5 days (IQR 36.8-82.5) for IMV patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate a short duration of symptoms before admission as a risk factor for severe disease that merits further investigation and different viral load kinetics in severely affected patients. Median duration of hospitalisation of IMV patients was longer than described for acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19

De Novo Assembly and Transcriptome Dataset of Liver, Testis and Head Kidney from Red Drum (\u3cem\u3eSciaenops ocellatus\u3c/em\u3e)

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is an estuarine Sciaenid with high commercial value and recreational demand. During the past 50 years, overfishing has caused declines in the population that resulted in the development of red drum commercial and stock enhancement aquaculture fisheries. Despite the potential high economic value in both wild and aquaculture commercial fisheries the availability of transcriptomic data for red drum in public databases is limited. The data here represents the transcriptome profiles of three tissues: liver, testis and head kidney from red drum. The data was generated using Illumina high-throughput RNA sequencing, Trinity for de novo assembly and Blast2GO for annotation. Six individual libraries were pooled for sequencing of the transcriptome and the raw fastq reads have been deposited in the NCBI-SRA database (accession number SRP11690)

De Novo Assembly and Transcriptome Dataset of Liver, Testis and Head Kidney from Red Drum (\u3cem\u3eSciaenops ocellatus\u3c/em\u3e)

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is an estuarine Sciaenid with high commercial value and recreational demand. During the past 50 years, overfishing has caused declines in the population that resulted in the development of red drum commercial and stock enhancement aquaculture fisheries. Despite the potential high economic value in both wild and aquaculture commercial fisheries the availability of transcriptomic data for red drum in public databases is limited. The data here represents the transcriptome profiles of three tissues: liver, testis and head kidney from red drum. The data was generated using Illumina high-throughput RNA sequencing, Trinity for de novo assembly and Blast2GO for annotation. Six individual libraries were pooled for sequencing of the transcriptome and the raw fastq reads have been deposited in the NCBI-SRA database (accession number SRP11690)

Episode 3: The “not-so-visible” impacts of the \u3cem\u3eDeepwater Horizon\u3c/em\u3e oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico

Three years after the BP oil well disaster, scientists are struggling to understand the effects on the Gulf ecosystem. From Mind Open Media, David Levin reports on the oil’s impact on the tiny creatures that form the base of the food chain

Episode 3: The “not-so-visible” impacts of the \u3cem\u3eDeepwater Horizon\u3c/em\u3e oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico

Three years after the BP oil well disaster, scientists are struggling to understand the effects on the Gulf ecosystem. From Mind Open Media, David Levin reports on the oil’s impact on the tiny creatures that form the base of the food chain

Characterization of the Differential Expressed Genes and Transcriptomic Pathway Analysis In the Liver of Sub-Adult Red Drum (\u3ci\u3eSciaenops ocellatus\u3c/i\u3e) Exposed to \u3ci\u3eDeepwater Horizon\u3c/i\u3e Chemically Dispersed Oil

The Deepwater Horizon blowout resulted in the second-largest quantity of chemical dispersants used as a countermeasure for an open water oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Of which, the efficacy of dispersant as a mitigation strategy and its toxic effects on aquatic fauna remains controversial. To enhance our understanding of potential sub-lethal effects of exposure to chemically dispersed-oil, sub-adult red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) were continuously exposed to a Corexit 9500: DWH crude oil chemically enhanced water accommodated fraction (CEWAF) for 3-days and transcriptomic responses were assessed in the liver. Differential expressed gene (DEG) analysis demonstrated that 63 genes were significantly impacted in the CEWAF exposed fish. Of these, 37 were upregulated and 26 downregulated. The upregulated genes were primarily involved in metabolism and oxidative stress, whereas several immune genes were downregulated. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR further confirmed upregulation of cytochrome P450 and glutathione S-transferase, along with downregulation of fucolectin 2 and chemokine C-C motif ligand 20. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) predicted 120 pathways significantly altered in the CEWAF exposed red drum. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway was significantly activated, while pathways associated with immune and cellular homeostasis were primarily suppressed. The results of this study indicate that CEWAF exposure significantly affects gene expression and alters signaling of biological pathways important in detoxification, immunity, and normal cellular physiology, which can have potential consequences on organismal fitness