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Diedrich V, Haugg E, Van Hee J, Herwig A. Role of glucose in daily torpor of Djungarian hamsters ( Phodopus sungorus): challenge of continuous in vivo blood glucose measurements. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2023; 325:R359-R379. [PMID: 37519255 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00040.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Djungarian hamsters use daily torpor to save energy during winter. This metabolic downstate is part of their acclimatization strategy in response to short photoperiod and expressed spontaneously without energy challenges. During acute energy shortage, torpor incidence, depth, and duration can be modulated. Torpor induction might rely on glucose availability as acute metabolic energy source. To investigate this, the present study provides the first continuous in vivo blood glucose measurements of spontaneous daily torpor in short photoperiod-acclimated and fasting-induced torpor in long photoperiod-acclimated Djungarian hamsters. Glucose levels were almost identical in both photoperiods and showed a decrease during resting phase. Further decreases appeared during spontaneous daily torpor entrance, parallel with metabolic rate but before body temperature, while respiratory exchange rates were rising. During arousal, blood glucose tended to increase, and pretorpor values were reached at torpor termination. Although food-restricted hamsters underwent a considerable energetic challenge, blood glucose levels remained stable during the resting phase regardless of torpor expression. The activity phase preceding a torpor bout did not reveal changes in blood glucose that might be used as torpor predictor. Djungarian hamsters show a robust, circadian rhythm in blood glucose irrespective of season and maintain appropriate levels throughout complex acclimation processes including metabolic downstates. Although these measurements could not reveal blood glucose as proximate torpor induction factor, they provide new information about glucose availability during torpor. Technical innovations like in vivo microdialysis and in vitro transcriptome or proteome analyses may help to uncover the connection between torpor expression and glucose metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elena Haugg
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Justin Van Hee
- Data Sciences International, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
| | - Annika Herwig
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
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Taylor CH, Friberg IM, Jackson JA, Arriero E, Begon M, Wanelik KM, Paterson S, Bradley JE. Living with chronic infection: Persistent immunomodulation during avirulent haemoparasitic infection in a wild rodent. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:1197-1210. [PMID: 36478482 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Apicomplexans are a protozoan phylum of obligate parasites which may be highly virulent during acute infections, but may also persist as chronic infections which appear to have little fitness cost. Babesia microti is an apicomplexan haemoparasite that, in immunocompromised individuals, can cause severe, potentially fatal disease. However, in its natural host, wild field voles (Microtus agrestis), it exhibits chronic infections that have no detectable impact on survival or female fecundity. How is damage minimized, and what is the impact on the host's immune state and health? We examine the differences in immune state (here represented by expression of immune-related genes in multiple tissues) associated with several common chronic infections in a population of wild field voles. While some infections show little impact on immune state, we find strong associations between immune state and B. microti. These include indications of clearance of infected erythrocytes (increased macrophage activity in the spleen) and activity likely associated with minimizing damage from the infection (anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in the blood). By analysing gene expression from the same individuals at multiple time points, we show that the observed changes are a response to infection, rather than a risk factor. Our results point towards continual investment to minimize the damage caused by the infection. Thus, we shed light on how wild animals can tolerate some chronic infections, but emphasize that this tolerance does not come without a cost.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ida M Friberg
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | - Joseph A Jackson
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | - Elena Arriero
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.,Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mike Begon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Klara M Wanelik
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Steve Paterson
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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Xu DL, Hu XK. Effect of Natural Seasonal Changes in Photoperiod and Temperature on Immune Function in Striped Hamsters. Zoolog Sci 2022; 39. [DOI: 10.2108/zs220005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- De-Li Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, Shandong Province, China
| | - Xiao-Kai Hu
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, Shandong Province, China
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Mou J, Xu J, Wang Z, Wang C, Yang X, Wang X, Xue H, Wu M, Xu L. Effects of photoperiod on morphology and function in testis and epididymis of Cricetulus barabensis. J Cell Physiol 2020; 236:2109-2125. [PMID: 32743820 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.29998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Photoperiod regulates the seasonal reproductive rhythms of mammals by influencing the development and function of sexual organs; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We examined the morphology and functioning of the main sex organs of striped dwarf hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) under different photoperiods (short daylight [SD], moderate daylight [MD], and long daylight [LD]) and further investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms. There was an inverse correlation between blood melatonin levels and photoperiod in the order SD > MD > LD. Decreases in body and tissue weights were observed under SD, whereas testis and epididymis weights between MD and LD were comparable. The diameters of the spermatogenic tubules, thickness of the spermatogenic epithelium, and the number of spermatogonia and Sertoli cells decreased under SD, whereas the serum-luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and fecal testosterone concentrations decreased under LD. In SD, bax/bcl2 protein expression increased in the testes and decreased in the epididymides, whereas LC3II/LC3I remained unchanged in the testes and increased in the epididymides compared with the MD group. In LD, bax/bcl2 and LC3II/LC3I protein expression levels were unchanged in the testes but were decreased in the epididymides. In SD and LD, adenosine triphosphate synthase and citrate synthase protein expression levels were unchanged in the testes but were decreased in the epididymides. Drp1 and Mff protein expression increased in the testes and decreased in the epididymides. Overall, different regulatory mechanisms in the testis and epididymis led to degeneration under SD and maintenance under LD, preferentially protecting mitochondrial function in the testis by regulating mitochondrial fission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Mou
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Jinhui Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Chuanli Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Xueqi Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Xingchen Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Huiliang Xue
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Ming Wu
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
| | - Laixiang Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China
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Season and sex have different effects on hematology and cytokines in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis). J Comp Physiol B 2019; 190:87-100. [PMID: 31732779 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-019-01246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Animals in the temperate zones face seasonal variations in environments and hence their immune responses change seasonally. In the current study, seasonal changes in hematological parameters and cytokines in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis) were examined to test the winter immunoenhancement hypothesis, which states that immune function tends to increase in fall and winter compared with other seasons. Male and female hamsters were captured from the wild in the fall and winter of 2014 and in the spring and summer of 2015. Maximum body mass in both sexes and relative fatness in female hamsters occurred in the summer, indicating that body condition was the best during this season. All hematological parameters were not different between male and female hamsters, and were also not affected by the interaction of season and sex except neutrophil granulocytes (GRAN). Red blood cells (RBC) and haematocrit (PCV) were higher in the fall and winter, and hemoglobin concentration (HGB) was the highest in winter in hamsters compared with the spring and summer, implying that their oxygen-carrying capacity and oxygen affinity of the blood increased during these seasons. Compared with other seasons, the number of white blood cells (WBC) was higher in winter than in summer, intermediate granulocytes (MID), the percent of MID (MID%), GRAN and the percent of GRAN (GRAN%) were the highest in winter, which all supported the winter immunoenhancement hypothesis. However, the count of lymphocytes (LYMF) was the highest in spring, being inconsistent with this hypothesis. IL-2 levels, but not TNF-α, were influenced by seasons, sex and their interaction in hamsters. Regardless of sex, IL-4 titres were higher in spring and summer than in fall and winter in hamsters. INF-γ titres in male hamsters did not differ between the spring and summer, while its titres in female hamsters was lower in spring in contrast with winter and summer. Higher IL-2 and IL-4 levels during the breeding seasons might be crucial in controlling the increased possibilities of infections in these seasons. In summary, season and sex had disparate effects on different hematological profiles and the levels of cytokines in hamsters.
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First person – De-Li Xu. Biol Open 2018. [PMCID: PMC6310893 DOI: 10.1242/bio.039685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
First person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Biology Open, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. De-Li Xu is first author on ‘Seasonal variations in cellular and humoral immunity in male striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis)’, published in BiO. De-Li conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Dehua Wang's lab at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is now a doctor, investigating ecological immunology in small mammals.
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