Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica).
Glucocorticoid steroids modulate immunocompetence in complex ways with both immunoenhancing and immunosuppressive effects in vertebrates exposed to different stressors. Such bimodal effects have been associated with variation in duration and intensity of the stress response. Given that natural popul...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4382218?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818935710020796416 |
|---|---|
| author | Vania Regina de Assis Stefanny Christie Monteiro Titon Adriana Maria Giorgi Barsotti Braz Titon Fernando Ribeiro Gomes |
| author_facet | Vania Regina de Assis Stefanny Christie Monteiro Titon Adriana Maria Giorgi Barsotti Braz Titon Fernando Ribeiro Gomes |
| author_sort | Vania Regina de Assis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Glucocorticoid steroids modulate immunocompetence in complex ways with both immunoenhancing and immunosuppressive effects in vertebrates exposed to different stressors. Such bimodal effects have been associated with variation in duration and intensity of the stress response. Given that natural populations have been exposed to a multitude of stressors, a better understanding of the functional association between duration and intensity of the stress response, the resulting changes in glucocorticoid plasma levels and their impact on different aspects of immunocompetence emerges as a cornerstone for vertebrate conservation strategies. We investigated the effects of a restraint challenge (with and without movement restriction), long-term captivity, and transdermal corticosterone application on plasma levels of corticosterone (hereinafter referred to as CORT) and different parameters of innate immunocompetence in the male cururu toads (Rhinella icterica). We show that for R. icterica restraint for 24h proved to be a stressful condition, increasing CORT by 3-fold without consistent immunological changes. However, the application of a more intense stressor (restraint with movement restriction), for the same period, potentiated this response resulting in a 9-fold increase in CORT, associated with increase Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio (N:L) and a lower bacterial killing ability (BKA). Transdermal application of corticosterone efficiently mimics repeated acute stress response events, without changing the immune parameters even after 13 days of treatment. Interestingly, long-term captivity did not mitigate the stress response, since the toads maintained 3-fold increased CORT even after 3 months under these conditions. Moreover, long-term captivity in the same condition increased total leukocyte count (TLC) and generated an even greater decrease in BKA, suggesting that consequences of the stress response can be aggravated by time in captivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:24:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f15b5a2bd96d4a3f98a102333763a907 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T05:24:29Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-f15b5a2bd96d4a3f98a102333763a9072022-12-21T19:51:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01104e012100510.1371/journal.pone.0121005Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica).Vania Regina de AssisStefanny Christie Monteiro TitonAdriana Maria Giorgi BarsottiBraz TitonFernando Ribeiro GomesGlucocorticoid steroids modulate immunocompetence in complex ways with both immunoenhancing and immunosuppressive effects in vertebrates exposed to different stressors. Such bimodal effects have been associated with variation in duration and intensity of the stress response. Given that natural populations have been exposed to a multitude of stressors, a better understanding of the functional association between duration and intensity of the stress response, the resulting changes in glucocorticoid plasma levels and their impact on different aspects of immunocompetence emerges as a cornerstone for vertebrate conservation strategies. We investigated the effects of a restraint challenge (with and without movement restriction), long-term captivity, and transdermal corticosterone application on plasma levels of corticosterone (hereinafter referred to as CORT) and different parameters of innate immunocompetence in the male cururu toads (Rhinella icterica). We show that for R. icterica restraint for 24h proved to be a stressful condition, increasing CORT by 3-fold without consistent immunological changes. However, the application of a more intense stressor (restraint with movement restriction), for the same period, potentiated this response resulting in a 9-fold increase in CORT, associated with increase Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio (N:L) and a lower bacterial killing ability (BKA). Transdermal application of corticosterone efficiently mimics repeated acute stress response events, without changing the immune parameters even after 13 days of treatment. Interestingly, long-term captivity did not mitigate the stress response, since the toads maintained 3-fold increased CORT even after 3 months under these conditions. Moreover, long-term captivity in the same condition increased total leukocyte count (TLC) and generated an even greater decrease in BKA, suggesting that consequences of the stress response can be aggravated by time in captivity.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4382218?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Vania Regina de Assis Stefanny Christie Monteiro Titon Adriana Maria Giorgi Barsotti Braz Titon Fernando Ribeiro Gomes Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). PLoS ONE |
| title | Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). |
| title_full | Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). |
| title_fullStr | Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). |
| title_short | Effects of acute restraint stress, prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu Toad (Rhinella icterica). |
| title_sort | effects of acute restraint stress prolonged captivity stress and transdermal corticosterone application on immunocompetence and plasma levels of corticosterone on the cururu toad rhinella icterica |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4382218?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vaniareginadeassis effectsofacuterestraintstressprolongedcaptivitystressandtransdermalcorticosteroneapplicationonimmunocompetenceandplasmalevelsofcorticosteroneonthecururutoadrhinellaicterica AT stefannychristiemonteirotiton effectsofacuterestraintstressprolongedcaptivitystressandtransdermalcorticosteroneapplicationonimmunocompetenceandplasmalevelsofcorticosteroneonthecururutoadrhinellaicterica AT adrianamariagiorgibarsotti effectsofacuterestraintstressprolongedcaptivitystressandtransdermalcorticosteroneapplicationonimmunocompetenceandplasmalevelsofcorticosteroneonthecururutoadrhinellaicterica AT braztiton effectsofacuterestraintstressprolongedcaptivitystressandtransdermalcorticosteroneapplicationonimmunocompetenceandplasmalevelsofcorticosteroneonthecururutoadrhinellaicterica AT fernandoribeirogomes effectsofacuterestraintstressprolongedcaptivitystressandtransdermalcorticosteroneapplicationonimmunocompetenceandplasmalevelsofcorticosteroneonthecururutoadrhinellaicterica |