Another mechanism potentially involved in altering disease susceptibility
is the effect of PBDE exposure on percent lipid and lipid
content. Measuring percent lipid and lipid classes is not only important
for normalizing the concentration of lipophilic contaminants
such as PBDEs in whole bodies but also can provide information on
long-term energy stores (e.g., triglycerides) (Tocher, 2003; Elskus et
al., 2005). Although in our study the proportions of the lipid classes
(e.g., triglycerides, cholesterol) were not significantly altered in
fish fed the different diets, levels of triglycerides were reduced in
salmon fed the 1× and 10× PBDE diets. In addition to providing
energy stores, triglycerides also provide buoyancy control and can
act as thermal regulators (Elskus et al., 2005). Therefore, a change in
whole body triglyceride levels could potentially influence disease
susceptibility