Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2019 Jun 26;14(6):e0218763. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218763. eCollection 2019.
Cardiac disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for adult gorillas. Previous research indicates a sex-based difference with predominantly males demonstrating evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy. To evaluate these findings, we analyzed serum markers with cardiac measures in a large sample of gorillas. The study sample included 44 male and 25 female gorillas housed at American Association of Zoo and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited zoos. Serum samples were collected from fasted gorillas during routine veterinary health exams and analyzed to measure leptin, adiponectin, IGF-1, insulin, ferritin, glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Cardiac ultrasonography via transthoracic echocardiogram was performed simultaneously. Three echocardiographic parameters were chosen to assess cardiac disease according to parameters established for captive lowland gorillas: left ventricular internal diameter, inter-ventricular septum thickness, and left ventricular posterior wall thickness. Our data revealed that high leptin, low adiponectin, and lowered cholesterol were significantly and positively correlated with measures of heart thickness and age in males but not in females. Lowered cholesterol in this population would be categorized as elevated in humans. High leptin and low adiponectin are indicative of increased adiposity and suggests a potential parallel with human obesity and cardiovascular disease in males. Interestingly, while females exhibited increased adiposity with age, they did not progress to cardiac disease.
心脏病是成年大猩猩发病率和死亡率的主要原因。先前的研究表明，雄性大猩猩存在基于性别的差异，主要表现为左心室肥大的证据。为了评估这些发现，我们分析了大量大猩猩的血清标志物和心脏测量值。研究样本包括在美国动物园和水族馆协会（AZA）认可的动物园中饲养的 44 只雄性和 25 只雌性大猩猩。从空腹大猩猩的常规兽医健康检查中采集血清样本，并分析测量瘦素、脂联素、IGF-1、胰岛素、铁蛋白、葡萄糖、甘油三酯和胆固醇。同时通过经胸超声心动图进行心脏超声检查。根据为圈养低地大猩猩确定的参数，选择了三个超声心动图参数来评估心脏病：左心室内径、室间隔厚度和左心室后壁厚度。我们的数据表明，高瘦素、低脂联素和低胆固醇与雄性大猩猩的心脏厚度和年龄呈显著正相关，但与雌性大猩猩无关。在该人群中，低胆固醇被归类为升高，在人类中也是如此。高瘦素和低脂联素表明肥胖增加，并表明雄性大猩猩的肥胖和心血管疾病存在潜在的平行关系。有趣的是，虽然雌性大猩猩随着年龄的增长而增加肥胖，但她们并没有发展为心脏病。
