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81 results for “wild immunity”
Data from: Telomere length declines with age, but relates to immune function independent of age in a wild passerine
<p><span>Telomere length (TL) shortens with age but telomere dynamics can relate to fitness components independent of age. Immune function often relates to such fitness components and can also interact with telomeres. Studying the link between TL and immune function may therefore help us understand telomere-fitness associations. We assessed the relationships between erythrocyte TL and four immune indices (haptoglobin, natural antibodies, complement activity, heterophil-lymphocyte ratio; n=477-589), from known-aged individuals of a wild passerine (<em>Malurus coronatus</em>). As expected, we find that TL significantly declined with age. To verify whether associations between TL and immune function were independent of parallel age-related changes (e.g. immunosenescence), we statistically controlled for sampling age, and used within-subject centring of TL to separate relationships within or between individuals. We found that TL positively predicted complement activity at the between-individual level (individuals with longer average TL had higher complement activity), but no other immune indices. In contrast, age predicted levels of natural antibodies and heterophil-lymphocyte ratio, allowing inference that respective associations between TL and age with immune indices are independent. Any links existing between TL and fitness are therefore unlikely to be strongly mediated by innate immune function, while TL and immune indices appear independent expressions of individual heterogeneity.</span></p>
High temperatures are associated with decreased immune system performance in a wild primate
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Data from: Telomere length declines with age, but relates to immune function independent of age in a wild passerine
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Data from: Comparison of spleen transcriptomes of two wild rodent species reveals differences in the immune response against Borrelia afzelii
<p>Different host species often differ considerably in susceptibility to a given pathogen, but the causes of such differences are rarely known. The natural hosts of the tick-transmitted bacterium <i>Borrelia afzelii</i>, which is one of causative agents of Lyme borreliosis in humans, include a variety of small mammals like voles and mice. Previous studies have shown that <i>B. afzelii-</i>infected bank voles (<i>Myodes glareolus</i>) have about ten times higher bacterial load than infected yellow-necked mice (<i>Apodemus flavicollis</i>), indicating that these two species differ in resistance. In this study, we compared the immune response to <i>B. afzelii </i>infection in these host species by using RNA-sequencing to quantify gene expression in spleen. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that several immune pathways were down-regulated in infected animals in both bank voles and yellow-necked mice. Moreover, IFNα response was up-regulated in <i>B. afzelii</i>-infected yellow-necked mice, while IL6 signaling and the complement pathway were down-regulated in infected bank voles; differences in regulation of these three pathways between bank voles and yellow-necked mice could thus contribute to the difference in resistance to <i>B. afzelii</i> between the species. This study provides knowledge of gene expression induced by a zoonotic pathogen in its natural host, and possible species-specific regulation of immune responses associated with resistance.</p>
Data from: Anthelmintic drugs modulate the acute phase immune response but not the microbiota in wild Song Sparrows
<p>Co-infection with microparasites (e.g., bacteria) and macroparasites (e.g., helminths) is often the natural state for wild animals. Despite evidence that gut helminths can bias immune responses away from inflammatory processes, few field studies have examined the role that helminths, or their potential interactions with internal microbial communities, play in modulating immunity in free-living, wild birds. Here, we used anthelmintic drugs to treat wild Song Sparrows (<em>Melospiza melodia</em>) for helminth infections and measured markers of systemic inflammation (heterothermia and locomotor activity) in response to an immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of gram-negative bacteria. Using birds from a population that previously showed high helminth prevalence, we monitored skin temperature and activity remotely using automated radio telemetry. We also collected cloacal swabs to determine whether drug treatment was associated with changes in the cloacal microbiota, and whether cloacal microbial community structure was associated with the severity of birds' immune responses. Because helminths can reduce the severity of inflammatory immune responses in other species, we predicted that in comparison with untreated control birds, anthelmintic-treated birds would be more lethargic and display higher fevers when challenged with LPS. Consistent with these predictions, anthelmintic-treated birds expressed higher fevers in response to immune challenge. However, all LPS-challenged birds decreased locomotor activity to a similar degree, regardless of anthelmintic treatment. Although several individual indicator bacterial taxa were strongly associated with anthelmintic treatment, this treatment did not alter overall bacterial alpha- and beta- diversity. Similarly, we did not find evidence that bacterial community diversity influenced the severity of immune responses to LPS. These results suggest that under field conditions, natural helminth infection can reduce the severity of songbirds' thermoregulatory responses (fever) during an immune challenge, without major impacts on internal microbial communities or behavioral responses to infection.</p>
Data from: Immune stability predicts tuberculosis infection risk in a wild mammal
Immunity is one of the most variable phenotypic traits in animals; however, some individuals may show less fluctuation in immune traits, resulting in stable patterns of immune variation over time. It is currently unknown whether immune variation has consequences for infectious disease risk. In this study, we identified moderately stable immune traits in wild African buffalo and asked whether the stability of these traits affected bovine tuberculosis (TB) infection risk. We found that adaptive immune traits such as the level of IFN-γ released after white blood cell stimulation, the number of circulating lymphocytes, and the level of antibodies against bovine adenovirus-3 were moderately repeatable (i.e. stable) over time, whereas parameters related to innate immunity either had low repeatability (circulating eosinophil numbers) or were not repeatable (e.g. neutrophil numbers, plasma bacteria killing capacity). Intriguingly, individuals with more repeatable IFN-γ and lymphocyte levels were at a significantly higher risk of acquiring TB infection. In stark contrast, average IFN-γ and lymphocyte levels were poor predictors of TB risk, indicating that immune variability rather than absolute response level better captured variation in disease susceptibility. This work highlights the important and under-appreciated role of immune variability as a predictor of infection risk.
Data from: Risk alleles for tuberculosis infection associate with reduced immune reactivity in a wild mammalian host
Integrating biological processes across scales remains a central challenge in disease ecology. Genetic variation drives differences in host immune responses, which, along with environmental factors, generates temporal and spatial infection patterns in natural populations that epidemiologists seek to predict and control. However, genetics and immunology are typically studied in model systems, whereas population-level patterns of infection status and susceptibility are uniquely observable in nature. Despite obvious causal connections, organizational scales from genes to host outcomes to population patterns are rarely linked explicitly. Here we identify two loci near genes involved in macrophage (phagocyte) activation and pathogen degradation that additively increase risk of bovine tuberculosis infection by up to 9-fold in wild African buffalo. Furthermore, we observe genotype-specific variation in IL-12 production indicative of variation in macrophage activation. Here we provide measurable differences in infection resistance at multiple scales by characterizing the genetic and inflammatory variation driving patterns of infection in a wild mammal.
Relationships between immune gene expression and circulating cytokine levels in wild house mice
<p>1. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) has been commonly used to measure gene expression in a number of research contexts, but the measured RNA concentrations do not always represent the concentrations of active proteins which they encode. This can be due to transcriptional regulation or post-translational modifications, or localisation of immune environments, as can occur during infection. However, in studies using free-living non-model species, such as in ecoimmunological research, qPCR may be the only available option to measure a parameter of interest, and so understanding the quantitative link between gene expression and associated effector protein levels is vital.</p> <p>2. Here we use qPCR to measure concentrations of RNA from mesenteric lymph node (MLN) and spleen tissue, and multiplex ELISA of blood serum to measure circulating cytokine concentrations in a wild population of a model species, Mus musculus domesticus.</p> <p>3. Few significant correlations were found between gene expression levels and circulating cytokines of the same immune genes or proteins, or related functional groups. Where significant correlations were observed, these were most frequently within the measured tissue (i.e. the expression levels of genes measured from spleen tissue were more likely to correlate with each other rather than with genes measured from MLN tissue, or with cytokine concentrations measured from blood).</p> <p>4. Potential reasons for discrepancies between measures, including differences in decay rates and transcriptional regulation networks are discussed. We highlight the relative usefulness of different measures under different research questions, and consider what might be inferred from immune assays.</p>
The genetics of immune and infection phenotypes in wild mice, Mus musculus domesticus
<p><span>Wild animals are under constant threat from a wide range of micro- and macroparasites in their environment. Animals make immune responses against parasites, and these are important in affecting the dynamics of parasite populations. Individual animals vary in their anti-parasite immune responses. Genetic polymorphism of immune-related loci contributes to inter-individual differences in immune responses, but most of what we know in this regard comes from studies of humans or laboratory animals; there are very few such studies of wild animals naturally infected with parasites. Here we have investigated the effect of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune-related loci (the MHC, and loci coding for cytokines and Toll-like receptors) on a wide range of immune and infection phenotypes in UK wild house mice, <em>Mus musculus domesticus</em>. We found strong associations between SNPs in various MHC and cytokine-coding loci on both immune measures (antibody concentration and cytokine production) and on infection phenotypes (infection with mites, worms and viruses). Our study provides a comprehensive view of how polymorphism of immune-related loci affects immune and infection phenotypes in naturally infected wild rodent populations.</span></p>
Data from: Anthelmintic drugs modulate the acute phase immune response but not the microbiota in wild Song Sparrows
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Data from: Risk alleles for tuberculosis infection associate with reduced immune reactivity in a wild mammalian host
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Shell colouration is associated with sex, boldness, and innate immunity in wild adult eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
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Data from: Immune stability predicts tuberculosis infection risk in a wild mammal
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Data from: Does nocturnal light pollution impair immune function in a wild-living amphibian?
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The genetics of immune and infection phenotypes in wild mice, Mus musculus domesticus
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Relationships between immune gene expression and circulating cytokine levels in wild house mice
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Divergence in coding sequence and expression of different functional categories of immune genes between two wild rodent species
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Data from: Rapid seasonal evolution in innate immunity of wild Drosophila melanogaster
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Data from: Immune response declines with age in a wild lizard
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Data from: Comparison of spleen transcriptomes of two wild rodent species reveals differences in the immune response against Borrelia afzelii
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.