Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) are slowly recovering in the eastern and northern parts of the Baltic Sea after years of hunting pressure and contaminant exposure. Still, consequences of anthropogenic activities such as contaminant exposure and increasing temperatures are stressors that continue to have deleterious effects on their habitat and health. Transcription profiles of seven health-related genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, endocrine disruption and stress were evaluated in blood, blubber, and liver of Baltic ringed seals in a multi-tissue approach. Selected persistent organic pollutants and total mercury concentrations were measured in blubber and liver, and muscle and liver of these animals, respectively. Concentrations of contaminants varied across tissues on a lipid weight basis but not with sex. mRNA transcript levels for all seven target genes did not vary between sexes or age classes. Transcript levels of thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TRα), retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) correlated with levels of persistent organic pollutants. TRα transcript levels also correlated positively with mercury concentrations in the liver. Of the three tissues assessed in this multi-tissue approach, blubber showed highest transcription levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), thyroid stimulating hormone receptor beta (TSHβ), oestrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα). The wide range of genes expressed highlights the value of minimally invasive sampling (e.g. biopsies) for assessing health endpoints in free-ranging marine wildlife and the importance of identifying optimal matrices for targeted gene expression studies. This gene transcript profile study has provided baseline information on transcript levels of biomarkers for early on-set health effects in ringed seals and will be a useful guide to assess the impacts of environmental change in Baltic pinnipeds for conservation and management.

环斑海豹 ( Pusa hispida) 在经过多年的狩猎压力和污染物暴露后，波罗的海东部和北部正在缓慢恢复。尽管如此，污染物暴露和温度升高等人为活动的后果仍然是压力源，继续对其栖息地和健康产生有害影响。采用多组织方法在波罗的海环斑海豹的血液、鲸脂和肝脏中评估了 7 个与异生物质代谢、内分泌干扰和压力有关的健康相关基因的转录谱。分别在这些动物的脂肪和肝脏以及肌肉和肝脏中测量了选定的持久性有机污染物和总汞浓度。不同组织的污染物浓度以脂质重量为基础而不同，但与性别无关。所有七个靶基因的 mRNA 转录水平在性别或年龄组之间没有差异。甲状腺激素受体α的转录水平（TRα )、视黄酸受体α ( RARα ) 和热休克蛋白 70 ( HSP70 ) 与持久性有机污染物的水平相关。TRα转录水平也与肝脏中的汞浓度呈正相关。在这种多组织方法评估的三种组织中，鲸脂显示出最高的芳烃受体核转运蛋白 ( ARNT )、促甲状腺激素受体β ( TSHβ )、雌激素受体α ( ESR1 ) 和过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体α ( PPARα ) 的转录水平）。广泛表达的基因突出了微创取样（例如活检）对评估自由放养海洋野生动物健康终点的价值以及确定目标基因表达研究的最佳基质的重要性。这项基因转录谱研究提供了有关环斑海豹早期健康影响的生物标志物转录水平的基线信息，并将成为评估波罗的海鳍足类动物环境变化对保护和管理的影响的有用指南。