Distribution of metals in the femoral bone of the brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758)

Ovim radom istražile su se razine olova, stroncija, kalcija i cinka u 41 bedrenoj kosti smeđeg medvjeda (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) s područja Like i Gorskog kotara prikupljenih tijekom 2014 i 2015. godine. Metali su izmjereni tehnikom masene spektrometrije induktivno spregnute plazme. Ispitan je utjecaj spola i dobi na razine metala u kosti te nisu pronađene razlike u sadržaju metala između mužjaka i ženki, no uočen je proporcionalan rast dobi i razine elemenata. Istraživanjem razlika u sadržaju metala morfološki različite kompaktne i spužvaste kosti uočena je značajno veća razina u kompaktnom tipu kosti u odnosu na spužvasti tip bedrene kosti. Važan faktor koji utječe na razinu metala je i pozicija na kosti. Spužvasta kost, gdje su oba istraživana metala (olovo i stroncij) pokazala povezanost s esencijalnim elementima kosti (kalcij i cink), pokazala se relevantnijom za istraživanje interakcija između elemenata u bedrenoj kosti za razliku od kompaktne kosti. Izmjerena razina olova bila je istog reda veličine kao i kod divljih životinja u drugim zemljama te u rasponu normalnih razina za domaće životinje.This study investigated the levels of lead, strontium, calcium and zinc in the femoral bone of 41 brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) from the area of Lika and Gorski kotar, collected during 2014 and 2015. Metal levels were measured by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technique. Influence of gender and age was studied and no differences in metal content between males and females were found, while age was associated with levels of all elements. Differences in metal content in morphologically different compact and spongy bone have shown significantly higher levels of the elements in the compact type of the bone, compared to the spongy bone. Location of bone sampling was also proven to be an important factor for metal levels. It was observed that spongy bone type, where both investigated metals (lead and strontium) were associated with the essential bone elements (calcium and zinc), is more relevant for investigation of interactions between the elements. The measured levels of lead were of the same order of magnitude as in wild animals from other countries and in the range of normal levels for domestic animals

Application of stress-proteins in biomonitoring

U zadnje vrijeme je izražena potreba za učestalijim nadzorom okoliša. U svrhu biomonitoringa traže se najpogodniji biomarkeri. Jedni od njih su proteini toplinskog stresa (eng. Heat shock proteini HSP). Hsp posebice porodica Hsp70 su sveprisutni i evolucijski očuvani proteini u skoro svim organizmima te se njihovi geni lako izoliraju i identificiraju u genomu. Njihova povećana ekspresija označava prisutnost denaturiranih proteina čija je konformacija promijenjena uslijed stresa te se je to dugi period pripisivalo onečišćenju. Danas se rade istraživanja koja pokazuju da povećana ekspresija Hsp70 proteina ne mora nužno značiti prisutstvo toksične tvari te da je potrebno bolje razumijevanje kompleksnosti Hsp odgovora na stres, a ujedno i bolje poznavanje fiziologije izabranog modelnog organizma.Recently there has been a need for more frequent supervision of the environment. For the purpose of biomonitoring there is a constant search for the most suitable biomarkers. One of those are Heat shock proteins (HSP). HSP, especially Hsp70 family are ubiquitous proteins that are evolutionarily conserved in almost all organisms, their genes are easy to isolate and identify in the genome. They react to non-functional proteins with increased up-regulation. For a long period that was associated with cellular stress response due to environmental pollution. Today, researches have showed that up-regulation of Hsp70 proteins does not necessarily have to be triggered by the presence of toxic substances and that there is a need for better understanding of complexity of the HSP response to stress, and moreover for better understanding of the physiology of the selected model organism

Application of stress-proteins in biomonitoring

U zadnje vrijeme je izražena potreba za učestalijim nadzorom okoliša. U svrhu biomonitoringa traže se najpogodniji biomarkeri. Jedni od njih su proteini toplinskog stresa (eng. Heat shock proteini HSP). Hsp posebice porodica Hsp70 su sveprisutni i evolucijski očuvani proteini u skoro svim organizmima te se njihovi geni lako izoliraju i identificiraju u genomu. Njihova povećana ekspresija označava prisutnost denaturiranih proteina čija je konformacija promijenjena uslijed stresa te se je to dugi period pripisivalo onečišćenju. Danas se rade istraživanja koja pokazuju da povećana ekspresija Hsp70 proteina ne mora nužno značiti prisutstvo toksične tvari te da je potrebno bolje razumijevanje kompleksnosti Hsp odgovora na stres, a ujedno i bolje poznavanje fiziologije izabranog modelnog organizma.Recently there has been a need for more frequent supervision of the environment. For the purpose of biomonitoring there is a constant search for the most suitable biomarkers. One of those are Heat shock proteins (HSP). HSP, especially Hsp70 family are ubiquitous proteins that are evolutionarily conserved in almost all organisms, their genes are easy to isolate and identify in the genome. They react to non-functional proteins with increased up-regulation. For a long period that was associated with cellular stress response due to environmental pollution. Today, researches have showed that up-regulation of Hsp70 proteins does not necessarily have to be triggered by the presence of toxic substances and that there is a need for better understanding of complexity of the HSP response to stress, and moreover for better understanding of the physiology of the selected model organism

Distribution of metals in the femoral bone of the brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758)

Ovim radom istražile su se razine olova, stroncija, kalcija i cinka u 41 bedrenoj kosti smeđeg medvjeda (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) s područja Like i Gorskog kotara prikupljenih tijekom 2014 i 2015. godine. Metali su izmjereni tehnikom masene spektrometrije induktivno spregnute plazme. Ispitan je utjecaj spola i dobi na razine metala u kosti te nisu pronađene razlike u sadržaju metala između mužjaka i ženki, no uočen je proporcionalan rast dobi i razine elemenata. Istraživanjem razlika u sadržaju metala morfološki različite kompaktne i spužvaste kosti uočena je značajno veća razina u kompaktnom tipu kosti u odnosu na spužvasti tip bedrene kosti. Važan faktor koji utječe na razinu metala je i pozicija na kosti. Spužvasta kost, gdje su oba istraživana metala (olovo i stroncij) pokazala povezanost s esencijalnim elementima kosti (kalcij i cink), pokazala se relevantnijom za istraživanje interakcija između elemenata u bedrenoj kosti za razliku od kompaktne kosti. Izmjerena razina olova bila je istog reda veličine kao i kod divljih životinja u drugim zemljama te u rasponu normalnih razina za domaće životinje.This study investigated the levels of lead, strontium, calcium and zinc in the femoral bone of 41 brown bears (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) from the area of Lika and Gorski kotar, collected during 2014 and 2015. Metal levels were measured by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technique. Influence of gender and age was studied and no differences in metal content between males and females were found, while age was associated with levels of all elements. Differences in metal content in morphologically different compact and spongy bone have shown significantly higher levels of the elements in the compact type of the bone, compared to the spongy bone. Location of bone sampling was also proven to be an important factor for metal levels. It was observed that spongy bone type, where both investigated metals (lead and strontium) were associated with the essential bone elements (calcium and zinc), is more relevant for investigation of interactions between the elements. The measured levels of lead were of the same order of magnitude as in wild animals from other countries and in the range of normal levels for domestic animals