PNAS：野生狒狒免疫功能差异或与社会等级有关

5月21日，国际著名杂志PNAS在线刊登了国外研究人员的最新研究成果“Social status predicts wound healing in wild baboons，”，文章中，研究者揭示了野生狒狒免疫功能中的与社会等级有关的差异。

这项研究发现高等级的雄性狒狒比其他雄性狒狒在受伤或生病后恢复得更快。社会地位可能强有力地影响人和动物的免疫功能和健康，但是其机制尚不明确。使用野生雄性狒狒自然出现疾病和受伤的27年的数据集，Elizabeth Archie及其同事研究了年龄、身体状况、压力、生殖努力以及睾丸激素水平的差异如何导致免疫功能中的与地位有关的差异。此前的研究已经确定了睾丸激素水平高和强烈的生殖努力可以抑制免疫功能，而且在高等级的雄性身上的水平最高，但是这组作者发现，与低等级的雄性相比，高等级的雄性不太可能患病，而且它们从受伤和疾病中恢复过来更快。

这些结果向这组作者提示，长期压力、年老以及与低等级有关的不良身体状况可能抑制了低等级雄性的免疫功能。这组作者说，尽管仍然不清楚社会等级是否决定了健康或者健康是否决定了社会等级，但是这些发现可能有助于澄清一些因素，这些因素影响了非人类灵长类动物的健康和免疫功能中的与社会地位有关的差异。

Social status predicts wound healing in wild baboons

Elizabeth A. Archiea,1, Jeanne Altmannb,c,d,1, and Susan C. Albertsc,e

Social status can have striking effects on health in humans and other animals, but the causes often are unknown. In male vertebrates, status-related differences in health may be influenced by correlates of male social status that suppress immune responses. Immunosuppressive correlates of low social status may include chronic social stress, poor physical condition, and old age; the immunosuppressive correlates of high status may include high testosterone and energetic costs of reproduction. Here we test whether these correlates could create status-related differences in immune function by measuring the incidence of illness and injury and then examining healing rates in a 27-y data set of natural injuries and illnesses in wild baboon males. We found no evidence that the high testosterone and intense reproductive effort associated with high rank suppress immune responses. Instead, high-ranking males were less likely to become ill, and they recovered more quickly than low-ranking males, even controlling for differences in age. Notably, alpha males, who experience high glucocorticoids, as well as the highest testosterone and reproductive effort, healed significantly faster than other males, even other high-ranking males. We discuss why alpha males seem to escape from the immunosuppressive costs of glucocorticoids but low-ranking males do not, including the idea that glucocorticoids' effects depend on an individual's physiological and social context.

原文链接：

Archie EA, Altmann J, Alberts SC.Social status predicts wound healing in wild baboons.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 5;109(23):9017-22.