Screening of thyroid gland histology in organohalogen-contaminated glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic

Abstract

The associations between blood organohalogen contaminant (OHC) concentrations and thyroid gland histology were studied in 10 adult female glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic (Bjørnøya) during the incubation period. This histological investigation was undertaken as previous glaucous gull studies from the same area reported negative relationships between circulating OHC concentrations and thyroid hormone levels. Organohalogen concentrations have previously been associated with altered blood plasma thyroid hormone concentrations, as a result of parenchymal thyroid gland alterations and perturbation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT)-axis. In this study, PCB (range: 186–1027 ng g−1ww), DDT (77–203 ng g−1ww) and chlordane (18–65 ng g−1ww) concentrations dominated the blood plasma OHC profile in incubating female glaucous gulls. High density of small follicles accompanied by follicular epithelial cell proliferations was seen in thyroid glands in seven of 10 gulls. Focal thyroiditis and nodular hyperplasia were found in two birds. No significant differences in plasma OHC concentrations were noted between gulls exhibiting high density of small follicles and cell proliferations and those birds not showing histological changes. Based on these findings, data suggest that the histological changes in thyroid glands of OHC-contaminated female glaucous gulls may be due to natural variance, although an OHC-induced thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) perturbation resulting in epithelial cell hyperplasia and increased follicular density cannot be ruled out and remains to be verified. Hence, a large-scale histological study is required, in order to elaborate the potential linkage between changes in thyroid gland histology, OHC exposure and regulation of the HPT-axis in the Arctic-breeding glaucous gull.