Prall Sean P, Muehlenbein Michael P
Evolutionary Physiology and Ecology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Am J Hum Biol. 2015 Nov-Dec;27(6):877-80. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22724. Epub 2015 Mar 31.
Human immune function is strongly influenced by variation in hormone concentrations. The adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) are thought to be beneficial to immune function and disease resistance, but physiologically interact with testosterone and cortisol. We predict that DHEA and DHEA-S will interact with these other hormones in determining immunological outcomes. Understanding the interactive effects of these hormones will aid in understanding variability in immunocompetence and clarify discrepancies in human studies of androgen-immune interactions.
Thirty-eight participants collected morning saliva over three days, from which concentrations of DHEA, DHEA-S, testosterone, and cortisol were measured, as well as salivary bacteria killing ability to measure innate immune function. From blood collection, serum was collected to measure innate immune function via a hemolytic complement assay, and whole blood collected and processed to measure proliferative responses of lymphocytes in the presence of mitogens.
DHEA was negatively correlated with T cell proliferation, and positively correlated with salivary bacteria killing in male participants. Additionally, using regression models, DHEA-S was negatively associated with hemolytic complement activity, but interaction variables did not yield statistically significant relationships for any other outcome measure.
While interactions with other hormones did not significantly relate with immune function measures in this sample, DHEA and DHEA-S did differentially impact multiple branches of the immune system. Generally characterized as immunosupportive in action, DHEA is shown to inhibit certain facets of innate and cell-mediated immunity, suggesting a more complex role in regulating immunocompetence.
人体免疫功能受激素浓度变化的强烈影响。肾上腺雄激素脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）和硫酸脱氢表雄酮（DHEA-S）被认为对免疫功能和抗病能力有益，但在生理上会与睾酮和皮质醇相互作用。我们预测，DHEA和DHEA-S在决定免疫结果时会与这些其他激素相互作用。了解这些激素的相互作用效应将有助于理解免疫能力的变异性，并澄清人类雄激素-免疫相互作用研究中的差异。
38名参与者在三天内收集早晨的唾液，测量其中DHEA、DHEA-S、睾酮和皮质醇的浓度，以及唾液细菌杀灭能力以测量先天免疫功能。采集血液后，收集血清通过溶血补体测定法测量先天免疫功能，并采集全血进行处理以测量有丝分裂原存在时淋巴细胞的增殖反应。
在男性参与者中，DHEA与T细胞增殖呈负相关，与唾液细菌杀灭呈正相关。此外，使用回归模型，DHEA-S与溶血补体活性呈负相关，但相互作用变量对任何其他结果测量均未产生统计学上显著的关系。
虽然在该样本中与其他激素的相互作用与免疫功能测量无显著相关性，但DHEA和DHEA-S确实对免疫系统的多个分支产生了不同影响。DHEA通常被认为具有免疫支持作用，但它却显示出抑制先天免疫和细胞介导免疫的某些方面，这表明其在调节免疫能力方面发挥着更为复杂的作用。
