title: MHC class II transcription is associated with inflammatory responses in a wild marine mammal.
abstract: Inflammation is one of the most important non-specific and rapid responses that a vertebrate can elicit in response to damage or a foreign insult. To date, despite increasing evidence that the innate and adaptive branches of immunity are more intricately related than previously thought, few have examined interactions between the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC, a polymorphic region of the vertebrate genome that is involved with antigen presentation) and inflammation, and even less is known about these interactions in an eco-immunological context. Here, we examined the effect of MHC class II DRB gene multiplicity and transcription on phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced inflammation during the early stages of development of California sea lions. Neither constitutive nor expressed ZacaDRB diversity was found to be associated with pup responses to PHA at any of the stages of pup development. However, for two-month-old pups, those with a specific MHC-DRB locus (ZacaDRB-A) tended to have less efficient responsive inflammation. Transcription of distinct MHC-DRB loci was also linked to PHA-induced inflammation, with patterns that varied markedly between ages, and that suggested that ongoing infectious processes could limit the capacity to respond to a secondary challenge. Life history constraints and physiological processes associated with development of California sea lions, in conjunction with their changing pathogenic environment could explain the observed effects of MHC class II transcription on PHA-induced inflammation. To our knowledge, ours is the first study to examine the importance of expressed vs. constitutive MHC loci on inflammation in a natural population.
authors.affiliation: Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Queretaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Montano-Frías
authors.affiliation: Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Queretaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Camila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vera-Massieu
authors.affiliation: Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Queretaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Queretaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores-Morán
authors.affiliation: Unit for Basic and Applied Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Avenida de las Ciencias S/N, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; The Marine Mammal Center, 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA 94965, USA. Electronic address: karina.acevedo.whitehouse@uaq.mx.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Acevedo-Whitehouse
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D046070:Sea Lions / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins
keywords: DRB polymorphism; Ecoimmunology; Inflammation; Major Histocompatibility Complex; Phytohemagglutinin; Zalophus californianus