van Ooik Tapio, Pausio Sanna, Rantala Markus J
Department of Biology, University of Turku, FI 20014 Turku, Finland.
Chemosphere. 2008 May;71(10):1840-4. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.02.014. Epub 2008 Mar 21.
Previously, we found that Epirrita autumnata larvae, which were fed with leaves that came from a metal polluted area, had an enhanced immune function. To investigate further the cause of the enhanced immunity we examined experimentally the direct influence of the heavy metals, copper and nickel, on the immune function of the geometrid moth we artificially added the metals to the surface of birch leaves to examine their direct effects. As a measurement of the strength of immune function, we used encapsulation rate against a nylon monofilament. A moderate amount of Ni and Cu in the diet of moth larvae increased their encapsulation rate, but a large amount of Cu caused the immune function to decrease. The results indicate that Ni and Cu have direct effects on immunity. Moderate amounts of those metals increase immune function, but large amounts lead to inhibition of immune function.
此前，我们发现用来自金属污染地区的树叶喂养的秋季黄毒蛾幼虫具有增强的免疫功能。为了进一步研究免疫力增强的原因，我们通过实验研究了重金属铜和镍对尺蛾免疫功能的直接影响，我们将这些金属人工添加到桦树叶表面以检验其直接作用。作为免疫功能强度的衡量指标，我们使用了对尼龙单丝的包囊率。蛾幼虫食物中适量的镍和铜会提高它们的包囊率，但大量的铜会导致免疫功能下降。结果表明镍和铜对免疫力有直接影响。适量的这些金属会增强免疫功能，但大量则会导致免疫功能受到抑制。
