Parasite Infection Negatively Affects PHA-Triggered Inflammation in the Subterranean Rodent Ctenomys talarum

CUTRERA, ANA PAULA; ZENUTO, ROXANA; MERLO, JULIETA

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL GENETICS AND PHYSIOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016 vol. 325 p. 132 - 141

1932-5223

Magnitude and effectiveness of immune responses vary greatly between and within species.Among factors reported to determine this variation, parasitism is a critical one, althoughcontroversial effects of parasites over immunological indices have been reported. Informationregarding immune strategies in species with different life histories is crucial to better understandthe role of immune defenses in an ecological and evolutionary context. Here, we examine theinfluence of the parasite community on immune responsiveness of a solitary subterranean rodent,Ctenomys talarum. To do this, we assessed the impact of the natural parasite community and theexperimental infection with Eimeria sp. on the phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-response, as well asother immune, condition, nutrition, and stress parameters. PHA-triggered inflammation wassimilarly impaired by Eimeria sp. infection alone or co-occurring with a number of gastrointestinalnematodes. None of the other physiological parameters studied were affected by parasitism. Thisindicates that parasitism is a general key factor modulating immune responsiveness of the host,and in particular for C. talarum, it could explain the great inter-individual variation previouslyobserved in the PHA-response. Thus, our results highlight the importance of taking the parasitecommunity into account in ecoimmunological studies, particularly when using immunologicalindices.