Prall Sean P, Ambu Laurentius, Nathan Senthilvel, Alsisto Sylvia, Ramirez Diana, Muehlenbein Michael P
Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Sabah Wildlife Department, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Am J Primatol. 2015 Jun;77(6):642-50. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22387. Epub 2015 Feb 27.
Despite the implications for the development of life-history traits, endocrine-immune trade-offs in apes are not well studied. This is due, in part, to difficulty in sampling wild primates, and lack of methods available for immune measures using samples collected noninvasively. Evidence for androgen-mediated immune trade-offs in orangutans is virtually absent, and very little is known regarding their pattern of adrenal development and production of adrenal androgens. To remedy both of these deficiencies, sera were collected from orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) (N = 38) at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Sabah, Malaysia, during routine health screenings. Testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) were assayed, along with two measures of functional innate immunity. DHEA-S concentrations, but not DHEA, increased with age in this sample of 1-18 year old animals. DHEA concentrations were higher in animals with higher levels of serum bacteria killing ability, while DHEA-S and testosterone concentrations were higher in animals with reduced complement protein activity. Patterns of DHEA-S concentration in this sample are consistent with patterns of adrenarche observed in other apes. Results from this study suggest that in addition to testosterone, DHEA and DHEA-S may have potent effects on immunological activity in this species.
尽管生命史特征的发展受到影响，但猿类中内分泌与免疫之间的权衡关系尚未得到充分研究。部分原因在于对野生灵长类动物进行采样存在困难，且缺乏利用非侵入性采集样本进行免疫测量的方法。关于红毛猩猩中雄激素介导的免疫权衡的证据几乎不存在，而且对于它们肾上腺发育模式以及肾上腺雄激素的产生知之甚少。为了弥补这两个不足，在马来西亚沙巴州塞皮洛克红毛猩猩康复中心对红毛猩猩（婆罗洲猩猩）（N = 38）进行常规健康筛查时采集了血清。检测了睾酮、脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）和硫酸脱氢表雄酮（DHEA-S），以及两种功能性先天免疫指标。在这个1至18岁动物的样本中，DHEA-S浓度随年龄增加而升高，而DHEA浓度则不然。血清细菌杀灭能力较高的动物中DHEA浓度较高，而补体蛋白活性降低的动物中DHEA-S和睾酮浓度较高。该样本中DHEA-S浓度模式与其他猿类中观察到的肾上腺初现模式一致。这项研究的结果表明，除了睾酮外，DHEA和DHEA-S可能对该物种的免疫活性有显著影响。
