Department of Neuroscience, Neuroscience Research Institute, Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Group, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 31;7:45497. doi: 10.1038/srep45497.
Exposure to dim light at night (dLAN) disrupts natural light/dark cycles and impairs endogenous circadian rhythms necessary to maintain optimal biological function, including the endocrine and immune systems. We have previously demonstrated that white dLAN compromises innate and cell mediated immune responses in adult Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). We hypothesized that dLAN has transgenerational influences on immune function. Adult male and female Siberian hamsters were exposed to either dark nights (DARK) or dLAN (~5 lux) for 9 weeks, then paired in full factorial design, mated, and thereafter housed under dark nights. Offspring were gestated and reared in dark nights, then tested as adults for cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Maternal exposure to dLAN dampened delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses in male offspring. Maternal and paternal exposure to dLAN reduced DTH responses in female offspring. IgG antibodies to a novel antigen were elevated in offspring of dams exposed to dLAN. Paternal exposure to dLAN decreased splenic endocrine receptor expression and global methylation in a parental sex-specific manner. Together, these data suggest that exposure to dLAN has transgenerational effects on endocrine-immune function that may be mediated by global alterations in the epigenetic landscape of immune tissues.
夜间的弱光暴露（dLAN）扰乱了自然光/黑暗周期，并损害了维持最佳生物功能所需的内源性昼夜节律，包括内分泌和免疫系统。我们之前已经证明，白色 dLAN 会损害成年西伯利亚仓鼠（Phodopus sungorus）的先天和细胞介导的免疫反应。我们假设 dLAN 对免疫功能有跨代影响。成年雄性和雌性西伯利亚仓鼠分别接受黑暗的夜晚（DARK）或 dLAN（~5 勒克斯）照射 9 周，然后以完全析因设计配对、交配，然后在黑暗的夜晚下饲养。后代在黑暗的夜晚中孕育和抚养，然后作为成年人进行细胞介导和体液免疫测试。母体暴露于 dLAN 会减弱雄性后代的迟发型超敏反应（DTH）反应。母体和父体暴露于 dLAN 会降低雌性后代的 DTH 反应。对新抗原的 IgG 抗体在母体暴露于 dLAN 的后代中升高。父体暴露于 dLAN 以父母性别特异性的方式降低了脾脏内分泌受体的表达和整体甲基化。总之，这些数据表明，暴露于 dLAN 会对内分泌-免疫功能产生跨代影响，这可能是由免疫组织中表观遗传景观的整体改变介导的。
