Spontaneous neoplasms in harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena
Gregor, K M; Lakemeyer, J; IJsseldijk, L L; Siebert, U; Wohlsein, P
(2022) Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, volume 149, pp. 145 - 154
(Article)
Abstract
Harbour porpoises are widely distributed in the North Atlantic and represent the most abundant cetacean species in the North and Baltic Seas. Spontaneous neoplasms are relatively rarely reported in cetaceans, and only little is known about neoplasia in harbour porpoises. Thus, archival material was reviewed for spontaneous neoplasms in harbour
... read more
porpoises recorded during post-mortem examinations between 1999 and 2018. Neoplasms were identified in 7 adult porpoises: 6 animals originating from the North and Baltic Seas and investigated as part of German and Dutch systematic health monitoring programs, and 1 porpoise from Greenlandic waters. The tumours were of different histogenetic origins and further characterised by histology and immunohistochemistry. One individual had a neoplasia in the digestive tract (adenocarcinoma, n = 1); 4 animals, in the genital tract (Sertoli cell tumour, n = 1; genital leiomyoma/fibroleiomyoma, n = 3); and 2 porpoises, in endocrine organs (adrenal adenoma, n = 2). This is the first report of an adenocarcinoma in the liver, a testicular Sertoli cell tumour and adrenocortical adenomas in harbour porpoises. The cause of the tumorigenesis in examined cases remains undetermined. The involvement of endogenous factors, including mutation of cell cycle regulating genes, such as the tumour-suppressor gene p53, cannot be ruled out. The aetiopathogenetic significance of exogenous factors, such as infectious agents like liver flukes or anthropogenic factors, including persistent organic pollutants, should be the subject of future investigations.
show less
Download/Full Text
Keywords: Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, Cetacean, Odontoceti, Spontaneous neoplasms, Environmental effects
ISSN: 0177-5103
Publisher: Inter-Research
Note: Funding Information: The harbour porpoises were investigated as part of the health monitoring of small cetaceans funded by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalisation (MEL-UND) and the State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Park and Marine Protection Schleswig-Holstein (LKN.SH). Post-mortem research on harbour porpoises from the Netherlands was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (under project reference number 140000353). The authors are grateful to Mads Peter Heide Jørgensen and Nynne Elmelund Lemming of the Greenland Institute for National Resources for providing samples for this study, the Greenlandic hunters that provided the animal and Arne Geisler, Finn Christensen and Jørgen Sethsen for their help during dissection. The authors also thank Julia Baskas, Mariska Bijsterbosch, Petra Grünig, Mia Hermus, Miriam Hillmann, Caroline Schütz and Kornelia Wolff-Schmidt for their excellent technical support. Funding Information: Acknowledgements. The harbour porpoises were investigated as part of the health monitoring of small cetaceans funded by the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Energy, Agriculture, the Environment, Nature and Digitalisation (MEL - UND) and the State Agency for Coastal Protection, National Park and Marine Protection Schleswig-Holstein (LKN.SH). Post-mortem research on harbour porpoises from the Nether - lands was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (under project reference number 140000353). The authors are grateful to Mads Peter Heide Jørgensen and Nynne Elmelund Lemming of the Greenland Institute for National Resources for providing samples for this study, the Greenlandic hunters that provided the animal and Arne Geisler, Finn Christensen and Jørgen Sethsen for their help during dissection. The authors also thank Julia Baskas, Mariska Bijsterbosch, Petra Grünig, Mia Hermus, Miriam Hillmann, Caroline Schütz and Kor-nelia Wolff-Schmidt for their excellent technical support. Publisher Copyright: © The authors 2022.
(Peer reviewed)