Department for Chemistry, Environment and Feed Hygiene, National Veterinary Institute, Ulls väg 2B 751 89, Uppsala, Sweden.
Biol Lett. 2012 Oct 23;8(5):849-52. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0385. Epub 2012 Jun 27.
One common physiological phenomenon that is involved both in infectious and in malignant processes is the reduction in appetite: disease anorexia. An increase in plasma levels of leptin with inflammation is thought to be involved in this process. However, from an evolutionary perspective, in certain cases, it would be more adaptive for an internal parasite to stimulate the appetite of the host instead of causing its suppression. We tested whether a parasitic infection with the larvae of the helminth parasite Taenia taeniaformis affects the levels of appetite-regulating proteins, such as leptin, ghrelin and neuropeptide-Y (NPY) in wild yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). We found that infected mice had lower plasma levels of leptin and increased levels of NPY than the uninfected subjects. Ghrelin levels were not associated with the occurrence of the parasites; however, these levels strongly correlated with the levels of NPY. This study suggests a possible manipulation by parasitic larvae of appetite regulation in infected subjects.
一种常见的生理现象，既涉及感染过程，也涉及恶性过程，即食欲下降：疾病性厌食症。人们认为，炎症时血浆中瘦素水平的增加与这一过程有关。然而，从进化的角度来看，在某些情况下，内部寄生虫刺激宿主的食欲而不是抑制其食欲会更具适应性。我们测试了寄生虫幼虫感染绦虫 Taenia taeniaformis 是否会影响食欲调节蛋白（如瘦素、胃饥饿素和神经肽 Y（NPY））的水平在野生黄颈鼠（Apodemus flavicollis）中。我们发现，感染的老鼠的血浆瘦素水平较低，而 NPY 水平较高。与寄生虫的发生无关；然而，这些水平与 NPY 水平强烈相关。这项研究表明，寄生虫幼虫可能会对感染个体的食欲调节进行操纵。
