Department of Animal Behaviour, University Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Genetics, Plön, Germany.
PLoS One. 2020 Mar 16;15(3):e0230081. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230081. eCollection 2020.
Reproduction is one of the costliest processes in the life of an animal. Life history theory assumes that when resources are limiting allocation to reproduction will reduce allocation to other essential processes thereby inducing costs of reproduction. The immune system is vital for survival. If reproduction reduces investment in immune function, this could increase the risk of disease, morbidity and mortality. We here test in the guinea pig, if even under ad libitum food conditions, pregnancy and lactation reduce the activity of the adaptive and innate immune system compared to the reaction of non-reproducing animals. In response to a challenge with keyhole limpet haemocyanin the antibody-mediated adaptive immunity during (pregnancy and) lactation was reduced. Pregnant and lactating females showed higher levels of bacterial killing activity, an integrated measure of innate immunity, than non-reproducing females. However, two major effectors of the innate immunity, the natural antibody and the complement of pregnant and lactating females showed lower levels than in non-reproducing females. Pregnant and lactating females did not differ significantly in the expressed levels of innate immunity. Our results indicate that changes in the immune response during reproduction are physiological adjustments to predictable allocation problems, because they happen even under ad libitum food availability.
繁殖是动物一生中最昂贵的过程之一。生命史理论假设，当资源有限时，分配给繁殖的资源将减少分配给其他必需过程的资源，从而导致繁殖成本。免疫系统对生存至关重要。如果繁殖减少了对免疫功能的投资，这可能会增加患病、发病和死亡的风险。我们在这里在豚鼠中进行测试，如果即使在自由采食的条件下，怀孕和哺乳是否会降低适应性和先天免疫系统的活性，与非繁殖动物的反应相比。在对血蓝蛋白进行挑战时，怀孕和哺乳期的抗体介导的适应性免疫反应降低了。怀孕和哺乳期的雌性表现出比非繁殖雌性更高的细菌杀伤活性，这是先天免疫的综合衡量标准。然而，先天免疫的两个主要效应物，即怀孕和哺乳期的天然抗体和补体，其水平低于非繁殖雌性。怀孕和哺乳期的雌性在先天免疫的表达水平上没有显著差异。我们的结果表明，繁殖期间免疫反应的变化是对可预测分配问题的生理调整，因为即使在自由采食的情况下也会发生这种情况。
