Yolk androgens and the development of avian immunity: an experiment in jackdaws (Corvus monedula).
(2009) In Journal of Experimental Biology 212(Pt 6). p.815-822- Abstract
- Maternally derived androgens have been shown to influence offspring phenotype in various ways. In birds, the benefits of prenatal androgen exposure, such as increased competitiveness and accelerated growth in nestlings, have been suggested to be balanced by costs, such as reduced immune function. In this study, we used an integrative approach to examine the influence of yolk androgens on the development of immune function in jackdaw (Corvus monedula) nestlings. Specifically, we tested whether the effects of yolk androgens on offspring immunity may extend over the first few days of life and be detectable even after several weeks. We manipulated yolk androgen concentrations in jackdaw eggs and estimated immune responsiveness by challenging... (More)
- Maternally derived androgens have been shown to influence offspring phenotype in various ways. In birds, the benefits of prenatal androgen exposure, such as increased competitiveness and accelerated growth in nestlings, have been suggested to be balanced by costs, such as reduced immune function. In this study, we used an integrative approach to examine the influence of yolk androgens on the development of immune function in jackdaw (Corvus monedula) nestlings. Specifically, we tested whether the effects of yolk androgens on offspring immunity may extend over the first few days of life and be detectable even after several weeks. We manipulated yolk androgen concentrations in jackdaw eggs and estimated immune responsiveness by challenging the young with different pathogens at different stages of the nestling period. Six-day-old chicks hatched from eggs with elevated yolk androgen levels had lower pre-challenge antibody titres against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) than control chicks. However, antibody titres against LPS did not differ between treatment groups eight days after a challenge with LPS. During the late nestling phase, both humoral (towards diphtheria/tetanus antigens) and cell-mediated (towards phytohaemagglutinin) immune responsiveness were lower in chicks from yolk androgen-treated eggs compared with control chicks. Our experimental study on jackdaw chicks shows that elevated yolk androgen levels result in a general immunosuppression in offspring; this conclusion was based on results for several immunological tests of both humoral and cell-mediated immunity conducted at 1-2 and 3-4 weeks of age. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1368107
- author
- Sandell, Maria LU ; Tobler, Michael LU and Hasselquist, Dennis LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- volume
- 212
- issue
- Pt 6
- pages
- 815 - 822
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000264444000016
- scopus:63049133660
- pmid:19251998
- ISSN
- 1477-9145
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.022111
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b845519e-28c2-4e2c-a1cd-9f488696ba1c (old id 1368107)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 12:02:05
- date last changed
- 2022-03-28 19:17:46
@article{b845519e-28c2-4e2c-a1cd-9f488696ba1c,
abstract = {{Maternally derived androgens have been shown to influence offspring phenotype in various ways. In birds, the benefits of prenatal androgen exposure, such as increased competitiveness and accelerated growth in nestlings, have been suggested to be balanced by costs, such as reduced immune function. In this study, we used an integrative approach to examine the influence of yolk androgens on the development of immune function in jackdaw (Corvus monedula) nestlings. Specifically, we tested whether the effects of yolk androgens on offspring immunity may extend over the first few days of life and be detectable even after several weeks. We manipulated yolk androgen concentrations in jackdaw eggs and estimated immune responsiveness by challenging the young with different pathogens at different stages of the nestling period. Six-day-old chicks hatched from eggs with elevated yolk androgen levels had lower pre-challenge antibody titres against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) than control chicks. However, antibody titres against LPS did not differ between treatment groups eight days after a challenge with LPS. During the late nestling phase, both humoral (towards diphtheria/tetanus antigens) and cell-mediated (towards phytohaemagglutinin) immune responsiveness were lower in chicks from yolk androgen-treated eggs compared with control chicks. Our experimental study on jackdaw chicks shows that elevated yolk androgen levels result in a general immunosuppression in offspring; this conclusion was based on results for several immunological tests of both humoral and cell-mediated immunity conducted at 1-2 and 3-4 weeks of age.}},
author = {{Sandell, Maria and Tobler, Michael and Hasselquist, Dennis}},
issn = {{1477-9145}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{Pt 6}},
pages = {{815--822}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
title = {{Yolk androgens and the development of avian immunity: an experiment in jackdaws (Corvus monedula).}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.022111}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.022111}},
volume = {{212}},
year = {{2009}},
}