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Lucore JM, Marshall AJ, Brosnan SF, Benítez ME. Validating Urinary Neopterin as a Biomarker of Immune Response in Captive and Wild Capuchin Monkeys. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:918036. [PMID: 35909690 PMCID: PMC9326447 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.918036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-invasive health monitoring is advantageous for wild and captive primate populations because it reduces the need for traditional invasive techniques (i.e., anesthetization) that can be stressful and potentially harmful for individuals. The biomarker neopterin is an emerging tool in primatology to measure immune activation and immunosenescence, however, most neopterin studies have focused on catarrhine species with little comparative work examining neopterin and health in platyrrhines. To address this gap, we validated a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure urinary neopterin in two types of capuchin monkeys, a wild population of white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) and a socially housed captive colony of tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella). We analytically validated methods for measuring urinary neopterin in two capuchin populations and demonstrated that two commonly-used methods to control for urine concentration-creatinine and specific gravity (SG)-produced highly concordant results. We also biologically validated these methods by examining variation in neopterin levels based on environment (captive and wild) and age, and changes in levels associated with immune-response. We found that neopterin increased after immune perturbation (rabies vaccine booster), varied by environmental condition, and mirrored expected trends in immune system ontogeny. Our results improve understanding of the innate immune system in platyrrhine species and suggest neopterin may be useful for non-invasive health monitoring in both captive and wild primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan M. Lucore
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Capuchinos de Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
| | - Andrew J. Marshall
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Program in the Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Sarah F. Brosnan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Marcela E. Benítez
- Capuchinos de Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Sacco AJ, Mayhew JA, Watsa M, Erkenswick G, Binder AK. Detection of neopterin in the urine of captive and wild platyrrhines. BMC ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1186/s40850-020-00051-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Non-invasive biomarkers can facilitate health assessments in wild primate populations by reducing the need for direct access to animals. Neopterin is a biomarker that is a product of the cell-mediated immune response, with high levels being indicative of poor survival expectations in some cases. The measurement of urinary neopterin concentration (UNC) has been validated as a method for monitoring cell-mediated immune system activation in multiple catarrhine species, but to date there is no study testing its utility in the urine of platyrrhine species. In this study, we collected urine samples across three platyrrhine families including small captive populations of Leontopithecus rosalia and Pithecia pithecia, and larger wild populations of Leontocebus weddelli, Saguinus imperator, Alouatta seniculus, and Plecturocebus toppini, to evaluate a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the measurement of urinary neopterin in platyrrhines.
Results
Our results revealed measured UNC fell within the sensitivity range of the assay in all urine samples collected from captive and wild platyrrhine study species via commercial ELISA, and results from several dilutions met expectations. We found significant differences in the mean UNC across all study species. Most notably, we observed higher UNC in the wild population of L. weddelli which is known to have two filarial nematode infections compared to S. imperator, which only have one.
Conclusion
Our study confirms that neopterin is measurable via commercial ELISA in urine collected from captive and wild individuals of six genera of platyrrhines across three different families. These findings promote the future utility of UNC as a promising biomarker for field primatologists conducting research in Latin America to non-invasively evaluate cell-mediated immune system activation from urine.
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