Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation.

• Published in: Journal of Experimental Biology
• Main Authors: Bourgeon, S., Raclot, T.
• Other Authors: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: bird; body reserve; fasting; glucocorticoid; immunosuppression; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Common Eider; Somateria mollissima
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00129345; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00129345/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00129345/file/J.Exp.Biol.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610

International audience Immunity is hypothesized to share limited resources with other physiological functions and this may partly account for the fitness costs of reproduction. Previous studies have shown that the acquired immunity of female common eider ducks (Somateria mollissima) is suppressed during their incubation, during which they entirely fast. Corticosterone was proposed to be an underlying physiological mechanism for such immunosuppression. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the effects of exogenous corticosterone on acquired immunity in captive eiders. To this end, females were implanted with corticosterone pellets at different stages of their incubation fast. We measured total immunoglobulin levels, T-cell-mediated immune response, body mass and corticosterone levels in these females and compared them with those of control females prior to and after manipulation (i.e. corticosterone pellet implantation). To mimic corticosterone effects on body mass, we experimentally extended fasting duration in a group of females termed ;late fasters'.