The host‐associated microbiome is increasingly recognized as a critical player in health and immunity. Recent studies have shown that disruption of commensal microbial communities can contribute to disease pathogenesis and severity. Santa Catalina Island foxes (
Neopterin, a product of activated white blood cells, is a marker of nonspecific inflammation that can capture variation in immune investment or disease-related immune activity and can be collected noninvasively in urine. Mounting studies in wildlife point to lifetime patterns in neopterin related to immune development, aging, and certain diseases, but rarely are studies able to assess whether neopterin can capture multiple concurrent dimensions of health and disease in a single system. We assessed the relationship between urinary neopterin stored on filter paper and multiple metrics of health and disease in wild geladas (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10384744
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2045-2322
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Urocyon littoralis catalinae ) present a compelling system in which to examine microbial dynamics in wildlife due to their depauperate genomic structure and extremely high prevalence of ceruminous gland tumors. Although the precise cause is yet unknown, infection with ear mites (Otodectes cynotis ) has been linked to chronic inflammation, which is associated with abnormal cell growth and tumor development. Given the paucity of genomic variation in these foxes, other dimensions of molecular diversity, such as commensal microbes, may be critical to host response and disease pathology. We characterized the host‐associated microbiome across six body sites of Santa Catalina Island foxes, and performed differential abundance testing between healthy and mite‐infected ear canals. We found that mite infection was significantly associated with reduced microbial diversity and evenness, with the opportunistic pathogenStaphylococcus pseudintermedius dominating the ear canal community. These results suggest that secondary bacterial infection may contribute to the sustained inflammation associated with tumor development. As the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains remains a concern of the medical, veterinary, and conservation communities, uncovering high relative abundance ofS. pseudintermedius provides critical insight into the pathogenesis of this complex system. Through use of culture‐independent sequencing techniques, this study contributes to the broader effort of applying a more inclusive understanding of molecular diversity to questions within wildlife disease ecology. -
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New Findings What is the topic of this review? This review summarizes and synthesizes what is known about the contribution of inflammation to age‐related arterial dysfunction.
What advances does it highlight? This review details observational evidence for the relationship of age‐related inflammation and arterial dysfunction, insight from autoimmune inflammatory diseases and their effects on arterial function, interventional evidence linking inflammation and age‐related arterial dysfunction, insight into age‐related arterial inflammation from preclinical models and interventions to ameliorate age‐related inflammation and arterial dysfunction.
Abstract Advanced age is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Two major components of arterial ageing are stiffening of the large arteries and impaired endothelium‐dependent dilatation in multiple vascular beds. These two alterations are major contributors to the development of overt cardiovascular disease. Increasing inflammation with advanced age is likely to play a role in this arterial dysfunction. The purpose of this review is to synthesize what is known about inflammation and its relationship to age‐related arterial dysfunction. This review discusses both the initial observational evidence for the relationship of age‐related inflammation and arterial dysfunction and the evidence that inflammatory autoimmune diseases are associated with a premature arterial ageing phenotype. We next discuss interventional and mechanistic evidence linking inflammation and age‐related arterial dysfunction in older adults. We also attempt to summarize the relevant evidence from preclinical models. Lastly, we discuss interventions in both humans and animals that have been shown to ameliorate age‐related arterial inflammation and dysfunction. The available evidence provides a strong basis for the role of inflammation in both large artery stiffening and impairment of endothelium‐dependent dilatation; however, the specific inflammatory mediators, the initiating factors and the relative importance of the endothelium, smooth muscle cells, perivascular adipose tissue and immune cells in arterial inflammation are not well understood. With the expansion of the ageing population, ameliorating age‐related arterial inflammation represents an important potential strategy for preserving vascular health in the elderly.
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Bacterial communities in and on wild hosts are increasingly appreciated for their importance in host health. Through both direct and indirect interactions, bacteria lining vertebrate gut mucosa provide hosts protection against infectious pathogens, sometimes even in distal body regions through immune regulation. In house finches ( Haemorhous mexicanus ), the bacterial pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) causes conjunctivitis, with ocular inflammation mediated by pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and infection triggering MG-specific antibodies. Here, we tested the role of gut bacteria in host responses to MG by using oral antibiotics to perturb bacteria in the gut of captive house finches prior to experimental inoculation with MG. We found no clear support for an impact of gut bacterial disruption on conjunctival pathology, MG load, or plasma antibody levels. However, there was a non-significant trend for birds with intact gut communities to have greater conjunctival pathology, suggesting a possible impact of gut bacteria on pro-inflammatory cytokine stimulation. Using 16S bacterial rRNA amplicon sequencing, we found dramatic differences in cloacal bacterial community composition between captive, wild-caught house finches in our experiment and free-living finches from the same population, with lower bacterial richness and core communities composed of fewer genera in captive finches. We hypothesize that captivity may have affected the strength of results in this experiment, necessitating further study with this consideration. The abundance of anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and their bacterial communities, alongside the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, highlights the importance of studies addressing the role of commensal bacteria in health and disease, and the consequences of gut bacterial shifts on wild hosts.more » « less
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Concentrations of urinary neopterin, but not suPAR, positively correlate with age in rhesus macaquesIdentifying biomarkers of age-related changes in immune system functioning that can be measured non-invasively is a significant step in progressing research on immunosenescence and inflammaging in free-ranging and wild animal populations. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the suitability of two urinary compounds, neopterin and suPAR, as biomarkers of age-related changes in immune activation and inflammation in a free-ranging rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) population. We also investigated age-associated variation in gene transcription from blood samples to understand the underlying proximate mechanisms that drive age-related changes in urinary neopterin or suPAR. Neopterin was significantly positively correlated with age, and had a moderate within-individual repeatability, indicating it is applicable as a biomarker of age-related changes. The age-related changes in urinary neopterin are not apparently driven by an age-related increase in the primary signaler of neopterin, IFN-y, but may be driven instead by an age-related increase in both CD14+ and CD14− monocytes. suPAR was not correlated with age, and had low repeatability within-individuals, indicating that it is likely better suited to measure acute inflammation rather than chronic age-related increases in inflammation (i.e., “inflammaging”). Neopterin and suPAR had a correlation of 25%, indicating that they likely often signal different processes, which if disentangled could provide a nuanced picture of immune-system function and inflammation when measured in tandem.more » « less
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