EVALUATION OF THE LEUKOPROLIFERATIVE RESPONSE OF ENGLISH SOLE (PLEURONECTES VETULUS) AS A BIOMARKER FOR IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION

The leukoproliferative (LP) response of splenic leukocytes from the ma rine benthic fish, English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus), stimulated wit h the mitogens lipopolysaccharide (LPS), concanavalin A (Con A), and p okeweed mitogen (PWM) was examined as a biomarker of immunotoxic effec ts, English sole were exposed to an organic-solvent extract of a sedim ent contaminated with polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) or placed o n a reference sediment modified with the PAC contaminated sediment. Fo r both treatments, English sole had an augmented LP response to Con A, no significant change in the response to LPS, and the LP response to PWM showed no consistent relationship to exposure to PACs. In a field study, English sole from a contaminated site had a significantly augme nted LP response to Con A and PWM. Fish from a non-urban site also had an augmented LP response to Con A and to LPS relative to fish from an other non-urban reference site. Overall, the results demonstrated that although the LP response in splenic leukocytes of English sole to Con A was linked to contaminant exposure, the LP response to Con A did no t exhibit high specificity as an indicator of chemical contaminant exp osure. However, the concerted use of Con A, LPS, and PWM allowed for i dentification of apparent chemical-contaminant induced alterations of the LP response in English sole from an urban area of Puget Sound. Pub lished by Elsevier Science Ltd.