The effects of environment and physiological cyclicity on the immune system of Viperinae.

Lorand Kobolkuti,Timea Kiss,Daniel Cadar,Marina Spinu,Carmen Sandru,Mihaela Niculae,Gabor Czirjak

doi:10.1100/2012/574867

Lorand Kobolkuti, Timea Kiss + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1100/2012/574867

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Abstract

One of the important aspects of species' survival is connected with global climate changes, which also conditions the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Poikilotherms are exposed, as other species, to climatic influence, especially due to their physiological peculiarities such as important stages of their life cycle: hibernation, shedding, and active phase. The immune system serves as an accurate indicator of the health status and stress levels in these species. This study aimed to monitor the changes of innate (leukocyte subpopulations and total immune globulins) and adaptive immunity (in vitro leukocyte blast transformation) of two viper species, V. berus berus and V. ammodytes ammodytes, endemic in Europe and spread in different regions of Romania during their three major life cycles, hibernation, shedding, and active phase. The results indicated that seasonal variance and cycle rather than species and regional distribution influence the functionality of the immune system.

Highlights

The reptilians, “diamonds from ancient worlds” [1] play an important role in the global ecosystem and are considered by the IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) to be biological sensors for pollution with biotic or nonbiotic agents
This study aimed to monitor the changes of innate and adaptive immunity of two viper species, V. berus berus and V. ammodytes ammodytes, endemic in Europe and spread in different regions of Romania during their three major life cycles, hibernation, shedding, and active phase
The results indicated that seasonal variance and cycle rather than species and regional distribution influence the functionality of the immune system

Summary

Introduction

The reptilians, “diamonds from ancient worlds” [1] play an important role in the global ecosystem and are considered by the IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) to be biological sensors for pollution with biotic or nonbiotic agents. Since the 70s, the world of researchers has begun to notice that, globally speaking, the amphibian and reptilian populations experienced a rough decline in numbers, followed by a partial [1] or sometimes total [2] extinction. An important problem of the ecology is the incomparable way in which environmental factors influence the dynamics of infectious diseases in natural populations of amphibians and reptiles [4]. The macroclimate change (global warming) modulates through its direct action the periodicity and the harmony of the immune system [5], whose performance is directly dependant on climate factors. In parallel to direct action, climate change intervenes on the populations of cold-blooded vertebrates indirectly, by changes induced in the ecology of microorganism populations, facilitating the emergence of new infectious diseases or reemergence of extinct diseases [2, 6]. The usefulness of the information concerning the detailed positive or negative influence of the macro- and microclimate conditions on the reptiles’ immune system, especially in the endangered species of both temperate and tropical climates, is undeniable [1, 7]

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