scholarly journals Evidence for the stress-linked immunocompetence handicap hypothesis in humans

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus J. Rantala ◽  
Fhionna R. Moore ◽  
Ilona Skrinda ◽  
Tatjana Krama ◽  
Inese Kivleniece ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis

scholarly journals Social and endocrine correlates of immune function in meerkats: implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 180435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra N. Smyth ◽  
Nicholas M. Caruso ◽  
Charli S. Davies ◽  
Tim H. Clutton-Brock ◽  
Christine M. Drea
Keyword(s):  
Immune Function ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Endocrine Mechanism ◽  
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Serum Bacteria ◽  
Bacteria Killing

Social status can mediate effects on the immune system, with profound consequences for individual health; nevertheless, most investigators of status-related disparities in free-ranging animals have used faecal parasite burdens to proxy immune function in the males of male-dominant species. We instead use direct measures of innate immune function (complement and natural antibodies) to examine status-related immunocompetence in both sexes of a female-dominant species. The meerkat is a unique model for such a study because it is a cooperatively breeding species in which status-related differences are extreme, evident in reproductive skew, morphology, behaviour, communication and physiology, including that dominant females naturally express the greatest total androgen (androstenedione plus testosterone) concentrations. We found that, relative to subordinates, dominant animals had reduced serum bacteria-killing abilities; also, relative to subordinate females, dominant females had reduced haemolytic complement activities. Irrespective of an individual's sex or social status, androstenedione concentrations (but not body condition, age or reproductive activity) negatively predicted concurrent immunocompetence. Thus, dominant meerkats of both sexes are immunocompromised. Moreover, in female meerkats, androstenedione perhaps acting directly or via local conversion, may exert a double-edged effect of promoting dominance and reproductive success at the cost of increased parasitism and reduced immune function. Given the prominent signalling of dominance in female meerkats, these findings may relate to the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH); however, our data would suggest that the endocrine mechanism underlying the ICHH need not be mediated solely by testosterone and might explain trade-offs in females, as well as in males.

scholarly journals SUPPORT FOR THE IMMUNOCOMPETENCE HANDICAP HYPOTHESIS IN THE WILD: HORMONAL MANIPULATION DECREASES SURVIVAL IN SICK DAMSELFLIES

Evolution ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 3294-3301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. González-Tokman ◽  
Roberto Munguía-Steyer ◽  
Isaac González-Santoyo ◽  
Fernanda S. Baena-Díaz ◽  
Alex Córdoba-Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Hormonal Manipulation ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis

Testing the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis: a review of the evidence

2004 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.L. Roberts ◽  
K.L. Buchanan ◽  
M.R. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis

Test of immunocompetence handicap hypothesis in mice (Mus musculus) infected with Trichinella spiralis

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (9) ◽  
pp. 817-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Zhang ◽  
H. He
Keyword(s):  
Immune Function ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Trichinella Spiralis ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Parasite Abundance ◽  
Individual Mouse ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
The Cost

The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) proposes that testosterone enhances the expression of sexual traits but suppresses immune function. However, studies to test the hypothesis have shown mixed results. Alternatively, sexual traits, immune function, and parasite susceptibility may be mediated by the stress hormone corticosterone. Here, we report an experimental test of the ICHH that included the manipulation of both testosterone and parasites in male laboratory mice (Mus musculus L., 1758). We conducted a factorial experiment, injecting each individual mouse with testosterone or not and infecting them with the nematode parasite Trichinella spiralis (Owen, 1835) or not. As predicted, testosterone enhanced the scent attractiveness of male mice, whereas parasite infection reduced it, but only in male mice not injected with testosterone. However, we found no evidence that corticosterone is involved in mediating the effects of testosterone. These results confirm that maintaining high testosterone levels entails the cost of increased parasite abundance. This study provides direct evidence supporting the ICHH.

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