Publication
Regulation of immunocompetence by different androgen metabolites in a blenny with alternative reproductive tactics
| dc.contributor.author | Ros, Albert F. H. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ferreira, Catarina | |
| dc.contributor.author | Santos, Ricardo Serrão | |
| dc.contributor.author | Oliveira, Rui Filipe | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-03-22T19:36:15Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-03-22T19:36:15Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006 | |
| dc.description.abstract | In Parablennius parvicornis, small reproductive males with relatively low expression of secondary sexual characters (M morphotype) parasite on the parental investment of the larger nest-holder males which have fully developed secondary sexual characters (M1 morphotype). In comparison with M1 males, M males have relatively low levels of androgens while having high blood cell percentages of lymphocytes and antigen responsiveness. Here we test the hypothesis that androgens are a causal factor for these differences in immunocompetence between morphotypes. After drawing an initial blood sample, males received a silastic implant containing either oil only (C), or oil with testosterone (T) or 11-ketotestosterone (KT). Males were re-caught 2 weeks later for drawing of the final blood sample. KT but not T induced the development of secondary sexual characters in M males. M males treated with KT showed lower swimming activity than the males treated with T or C implants, suggesting that KT also mediates behavioral changes in M males. As expected, blood cell percentages of lymphocytes, but not of granulocytes, were higher in M males than in M1 males. Overall, lymphocyte percentages increased in the C group which might have been a response to the surgery/treatment. In concordance with the hypothesis, lymphocyte percentages were suppressed in males treated with T in comparison with controls. However, no significant change was found in KT-treated males. This suggests that androgens modulate central, morphological and immunological traits by partly independent androgen mechanisms in P. parvicornis. | por |
| dc.identifier.citation | Journal of Experimental Zoology, 305A, 986-994 | por |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1932-5231 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/1290 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | por |
| dc.peerreviewed | yes | por |
| dc.publisher | Wiley-Liss Inc. | por |
| dc.title | Regulation of immunocompetence by different androgen metabolites in a blenny with alternative reproductive tactics | por |
| dc.type | journal article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oaire.citation.conferencePlace | New Jersey | por |
| oaire.citation.endPage | 994 | por |
| oaire.citation.startPage | 986 | por |
| oaire.citation.title | Journal of Experimental Zoology | por |
| rcaap.rights | restrictedAccess | por |
| rcaap.type | article | por |