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Mercury and selenium localization in macrophages of the striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2019

Marco Nigro
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biomedicina Sperimentale, Via A. Volta 4, 1–56126 Pisa, Italy

Abstract

The cellular features of mercury and selenium accumulation has been studied by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray microprobe analysis in the liver of striped dolphins. Mercury and selenium occurred as dense intracellular granules, located mainly within the liver macrophages (Kupffer cells). Granules were composed of 150 A spherical particles showing the same electron diffraction pattern and x-ray spectrum as mercuric selenide. The role of macrophages in mercuric selenide granule production and storage is discussed.

Type
Short Communications
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

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