Intestinal parasite infections and fecal steroid levels in wild chimpanzees
Intestinal parasite infections and fecal steroid levels in wild chimpanzees
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DOI：
10.1002/ajpa.20391
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发表时间：
2006-08-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Muehlenbein, Michael P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Muehlenbein, Michael P.
在非人类灵长类动物中，免疫-内分泌相互作用的评估频率要低得多，这可能部分是由于对濒危物种（尤其是类人猿）的诱捕和采样的后勤和伦理考虑。本研究采用非侵入性粪便收集方法，评估了乌干达Kibale国家公园Ngogo黑猩猩群落粪便类固醇水平与胃肠道寄生虫感染之间的可能关系。由于睾酮和皮质醇在体外和其他动物模型中都表现出免疫抑制作用，因此假设睾酮和皮质醇与这些动物的胃肠道寄生虫感染呈正相关。当同时置于混合模型中时，睾酮（F = 4.98, df = 1, P = 0.033）和皮质醇（F = 5.94, df = 1, P = 0.020）与总寄生虫（蠕虫和原生动物）丰富度（从宿主粪便样本中恢复的独特肠道寄生虫物种的数量）呈正相关。雄激素和皮质激素可能会改变宿主对多种寄生物种的并发感染产生有效免疫反应的能力。讨论了粪便样本评估免疫-内分泌相互作用的效用。
Immune-endocrine interactions have been evaluated much less frequently in nonhuman primates, and this may be due, in part, to logistical and ethical concerns regarding trapping and sampling of endangered species, especially apes. Using noninvasive fecal collection methods, the present study evaluates possible relationships between fecal steroid levels and gastrointestinal parasite infections in the Ngogo chimpanzee community in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Because both testosterone and cortisol exhibit immunosuppressive effects in vitro and in other animal models, it was hypothesized that both testosterone and cortisol would be positively associated with gastrointestinal parasite infections in these animals. When placed in a mixed model simultaneously, both testosterone (F = 4.98, df = 1, P = 0.033) and cortisol (F = 5.94, df = 1, P = 0.020) were positively associated with total (helminth and protozoan) parasite richness (the number of unique intestinal parasite species recovered from hosts' fecal samples). It is possible that androgens and corticoids alter the ability of a host to mount an effective immune response against concomitant infection with multiple parasitic species. The utility of fecal samples for assessing immune-endocrine interactions is discussed.