Christina M McCosker, Milton Levin, Wendy B Puryear, Jonathan A Runstadler, Kimberly T Murray, Kristina M Cammen
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Infectious disease is a naturally occurring phenomenon in healthy ecosystems, but anthropogenic pressures have led to an increase in the spread and intensity of disease outbreaks in recent decades. Ecosystem health and functioning can be monitored through sentinel organisms, such as marine mammals for coastal environments. In the northwest Atlantic Ocean, gray (Halichoerus grypus) and harbor (Phoca vitulina) seals are exposed to influenza A virus (IAV) but exhibit apparent differences in disease severity, as gray seals largely remain asymptomatic while harbor seals experience IAV-associated morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to investigate gray seal response to IAV through cytokines, which are signaling proteins responsible for initiating and regulating an immune response. Swabs (nasal, conjunctival, and rectal) and blood samples were collected from wild gray seal pups (n=116) and used to detect IAV infection and to measure 13 serum cytokines. There was no significant difference in cytokine profiles across IAV infection status, age (as determined by molt stage), or body condition (a proxy of overall health), but individual cytokines were identified as important in differentiating between seals across these categorical variables, and a general trend of lower cytokine detection rates was observed among IAV-infected pups. These results suggest that gray seal pups lack a strong cytokine response during IAV infections. Understanding the immune response of pinnipeds, and mammals more broadly, to viral pathogens is important for predicting how the increased emergence and spread of infectious disease will shape the future of global terrestrial and marine mammal populations.
期刊介绍:
The JWD publishes reports of wildlife disease investigations, research papers, brief research notes, case and epizootic reports, review articles, and book reviews. The JWD publishes the results of original research and observations dealing with all aspects of infectious, parasitic, toxic, nutritional, physiologic, developmental and neoplastic diseases, environmental contamination, and other factors impinging on the health and survival of free-living or occasionally captive populations of wild animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Papers on zoonoses involving wildlife and on chemical immobilization of wild animals are also published. Manuscripts dealing with surveys and case reports may be published in the Journal provided that they contain significant new information or have significance for better understanding health and disease in wild populations. Authors are encouraged to address the wildlife management implications of their studies, where appropriate.