College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, Shandong Province, China,
College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, Shandong Province, China.
Zoolog Sci. 2022 Aug;39(4). doi: 10.2108/zs220005.
What environmental factors contribute to seasonal variation in immune function in striped hamsters () remains unclear. How immune responses would respond to natural seasonal changes in photoperiod and temperature was investigated in the present study. Twenty-nine male and 30 female hamsters were randomly assigned to the winter, spring, summer, and autumn groups. Spleen mass was the highest in male hamsters during autumn, while it did not differ among seasons in females. Regardless of sex, bacteria killing activity (BKA) was the lowest in the spring, whereas phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) responses at 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h were all highest in the winter among the four seasons. Females had the lowest titers of immunoglobin (Ig)G5, 10, and 15 in winter, while they did not show seasonal variation in males. Compared with male hamsters, females had higher levels of IgG10 and IgG15 in the spring and autumn, but had lower BKA in autumn. Blood glucose was the lowest in the spring in both sexes. Males had higher leptin level in winter than in summer and autumn, while leptin level was higher in winter and spring than in autumn in females. Corticosterone level was higher in winter and summer than in spring and autumn in males, while it was higher in winter than in the other three seasons in females. Males had higher levels of leptin in winter, and corticosterone in summer, than females. In summary, distinct parts of the immune system respond differently to natural seasonal variations in photoperiod and temperature.
环境因素如何促成季节性变化对免疫功能的影响在条纹仓鼠中仍不清楚。本研究旨在探讨免疫反应如何应对光周期和温度的自然季节性变化。29 只雄性和 30 只雌性仓鼠被随机分配到冬季、春季、夏季和秋季组。雄性仓鼠的脾脏质量在秋季最高，而雌性仓鼠在各季节之间没有差异。无论性别如何，春季的杀菌活性（BKA）最低，而四个季节中冬季的植物血凝素（PHA）反应在 12 小时、24 小时和 48 小时均最高。冬季雌性的免疫球蛋白（Ig）G5、10 和 15 的滴度最低，而雄性则没有季节性变化。与雄性仓鼠相比，雌性仓鼠在春季和秋季的 IgG10 和 IgG15 水平较高，但秋季的 BKA 较低。在两性中，春季的血糖水平最低。雄性冬季的瘦素水平高于夏季和秋季，而雌性冬季和春季的瘦素水平高于秋季。雄性冬季和夏季的皮质酮水平高于春季和秋季，而雌性冬季的皮质酮水平高于其他三个季节。雄性冬季的瘦素水平和夏季的皮质酮水平均高于雌性。总之，免疫系统的不同部分对光周期和温度的自然季节性变化有不同的反应。
