College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2012 Feb 22;279(1729):709-14. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1291. Epub 2011 Aug 17.
Stressful conditions early in life can give rise to exaggerated stress responses, which, while beneficial in the short term, chronically increase lifetime exposure to stress hormones and elevate disease risk later in life. Using zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata, we show here that individuals whose glucocorticoid stress hormones were experimentally increased for only a brief period in early post-natal life, inducing increased stress sensitivity, had reduced adult lifespans. Remarkably, the breeding partners of such exposed individuals also died at a younger age. This negative effect on partner longevity was the same for both sexes; it occurred irrespective of the partner's own early stress exposure and was in addition to any longevity reduction arising from this. Furthermore, this partner effect continued even after the breeding partnership was terminated. Only 5 per cent of control birds with control partners had died after 3 years, compared with over 40 per cent in early stress-early stress pairs. In contrast, reproductive capability appeared unaffected by the early stress treatment, even when breeding in stressful environmental circumstances. Our results clearly show that increased exposure to glucocorticoids early in life can markedly reduce adult life expectancy, and that pairing with such exposed partners carries an additional and substantial lifespan penalty.
早期生活中的压力条件可能会导致应激反应过度，这种反应虽然在短期内有益，但长期来看会增加一生中暴露于应激激素的次数，从而增加晚年患病的风险。我们用斑胸草雀（Taeniopygia guttata）展示了以下结果：那些在出生后早期经历过短暂的糖皮质激素应激激素升高实验的个体，其应激敏感性增加，成年后的寿命会缩短。值得注意的是，这种暴露个体的繁殖伴侣也会更早死亡。这种对伴侣寿命的负面影响在两性中是相同的；它与伴侣自身的早期应激暴露无关，并且除了由此产生的任何寿命缩短之外。此外，即使在繁殖伙伴关系终止后，这种伴侣效应仍会持续。在控制组中，只有 5%的控制伴侣的鸟在 3 年后死亡，而在早期应激-早期应激配对中，这一比例超过 40%。相比之下，即使在压力环境下繁殖，早期应激处理似乎也没有影响繁殖能力。我们的研究结果清楚地表明，生命早期暴露于糖皮质激素会显著降低成年预期寿命，而与这种暴露个体配对会带来额外的、实质性的寿命损失。
