Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation
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...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jexbio:209/24/4957 2023-05-15T15:55:58+02:00 Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation Bourgeon, Sophie Raclot, Thierry 2006-12-15 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/209/24/4957 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 en eng Company of Biologists http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/209/24/4957 http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 Copyright (C) 2006, Company of Biologists Research Article TEXT 2006 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 2013-05-26T21:54:08Z 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'. Implanted females had corticosterone levels 6 times higher and lost 35% more mass than control females. Corticosterone levels in `late fasters' were similar to those in control females but body mass was 8% lower in the former. The decrease in the immunoglobulin levels of corticosterone implanted females was twice as high as in control females, while the T-cell-mediated immune response was not significantly affected by the treatment. We found a decrease in the T-cell-mediated immune response only in `late fasters' (by 60%), while the immunoglobulin level was not lower in this group than in corticosterone implanted or control females. Our study shows that in incubating eiders, exogenous corticosterone only decreased humoral immunity. We suggest that the immunosuppressive effect of corticosterone could be mediated through its effects on body reserves. Further experiments are required to determine the relationship between body condition and immune system in fasting birds. Text Common Eider Somateria mollissima HighWire Press (Stanford University) Journal of Experimental Biology 209 24 4957 4965 |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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English |
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Research Article Bourgeon, Sophie Raclot, Thierry Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
topic_facet |
Research Article |
description |
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'. Implanted females had corticosterone levels 6 times higher and lost 35% more mass than control females. Corticosterone levels in `late fasters' were similar to those in control females but body mass was 8% lower in the former. The decrease in the immunoglobulin levels of corticosterone implanted females was twice as high as in control females, while the T-cell-mediated immune response was not significantly affected by the treatment. We found a decrease in the T-cell-mediated immune response only in `late fasters' (by 60%), while the immunoglobulin level was not lower in this group than in corticosterone implanted or control females. Our study shows that in incubating eiders, exogenous corticosterone only decreased humoral immunity. We suggest that the immunosuppressive effect of corticosterone could be mediated through its effects on body reserves. Further experiments are required to determine the relationship between body condition and immune system in fasting birds. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bourgeon, Sophie Raclot, Thierry |
author_facet |
Bourgeon, Sophie Raclot, Thierry |
author_sort |
Bourgeon, Sophie |
title |
Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
title_short |
Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
title_full |
Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
title_fullStr |
Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
title_sort |
corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation |
publisher |
Company of Biologists |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/209/24/4957 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 |
genre |
Common Eider Somateria mollissima |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Somateria mollissima |
op_relation |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/209/24/4957 http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2006, Company of Biologists |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02610 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
209 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
4957 |
op_container_end_page |
4965 |
_version_ |
1766391442863816704 |