title: Increase in a heat-shock protein from blood cells in response of nestling house martins (Delichon urbica) to parasitism: an experimental approach.
abstract: Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are synthesized by animals and plants in response to various stressors. The level of the HSP60 stress protein was measured from the cell fraction of peripheral blood obtained from nestling house martins (Delichon urbica) to test whether ectoparasitism increased the concentration of stress protein. We assessed HSP from nestlings raised in nests previously treated with an insecticide or infested with 50 martin bugs (Oeciacus hirundinis). In addition, haematozoa infections were checked in blood smears. Nestlings from parasite-infested nests, or nestlings infected with trypanosomes, had increased levels of HSP in their blood cells. Nestling growth as determined from wing length was negatively related to HSP60 levels and within-brood variation in wing length increased with increasing levels of the stress protein independently of treatment and infection by trypanosomes. These results suggest HSPs may play a role in host-parasite interactions, and that they can be used reliably for measuring physiological responses to parasites.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d´ Ecologie, CNRS URA 258, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât A, 7ème étage, 7 quai St. Bernard, Case 237, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France e-mail: smerino@snv.jussieu.fr, Fax: 33-1-44273516, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merino
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain, , , , , , ES.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d´ Ecologie, CNRS URA 258, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât A, 7ème étage, 7 quai St. Bernard, Case 237, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France e-mail: smerino@snv.jussieu.fr, Fax: 33-1-44273516, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d´ Ecologie, CNRS URA 258, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bât A, 7ème étage, 7 quai St. Bernard, Case 237, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France e-mail: smerino@snv.jussieu.fr, Fax: 33-1-44273516, , , , , , FR.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de Extremadura, E-06071 Badajoz, Spain, , , , , , ES.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Lope
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain, , , , , , ES.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain, , , , , , ES.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Caabeiro
keywords: Heat-shock protein; Key words Disease; Martin bug; Sedimentation rate; Trypanosomes