scholarly journals Social effects on age-related and sex-specific immune cell profiles in a wild mammal

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 20200234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sil H. J. van Lieshout ◽  
Elisa P. Badás ◽  
Michael W. T. Mason ◽  
Chris Newman ◽  
Christina D. Buesching ◽  
...  

Evidence for age-related changes in innate and adaptive immune responses is increasing in wild populations. Such changes have been linked to fitness, and knowledge of the factors driving immune response variation is important for understanding the evolution of immunity. Age-related changes in immune profiles may be owing to factors such as immune system development, sex-specific behaviour and responses to environmental conditions. Social environments may also contribute to variation in immunological responses, for example, through transmission of pathogens and stress arising from resource and mate competition. Yet, the impact of the social environment on age-related changes in immune cell profiles is currently understudied in the wild. Here, we tested the relationship between leukocyte cell composition (proportion of neutrophils and lymphocytes [innate and adaptive immunity, respectively] that were lymphocytes) and age, sex and group size in a wild population of European badgers ( Meles meles ). We found that the proportion of lymphocytes in early life was greater in males in smaller groups compared to larger groups, but with a faster age-related decline in smaller groups. By contrast, the proportion of lymphocytes in females was not significantly related to age or group size. Our results provide evidence of sex-specific age-related changes in immune cell profiles in a wild mammal, which are influenced by the social environment.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sil H. J. van Lieshout ◽  
Elisa Perez Badas ◽  
Michael W.T. Mason ◽  
Chris Newman ◽  
Christina D. Buesching ◽  
...  

Evidence for age-related changes in innate and adaptive immune responses is increasing in wild populations. Such changes have been linked to fitness, and understanding the factors driving variation in immune responses is important for the evolution of immunity and senescence. Age-related changes in immune profiles may be due to sex-specific behaviour, physiology and responses to environmental conditions. Social conditions may also contribute to variation in immunological responses, for example, through transmission of pathogens and stress from resource and mate competition. Yet, the impact of the social environment on age-related changes in immune cell profile requires further investigation in the wild. Here, we tested the relationship between leukocyte cell composition (agranulocyte proportion, i.e. adaptive and innate immunity) and age, sex, and group size in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles). We found that the proportion of agranulocytes decreased with age only in males living in small groups. In contrast, females in larger groups exhibited a greater age-related decline in the proportion of agranulocytes compared to females in smaller groups. Our results provide evidence for age-related changes in immune cell profiles in a wild mammal, which are influenced by both the sex of the individual and their social environment.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 522
Author(s):  
Dehua Liu ◽  
Chenyu Sun ◽  
Nahyun Kim ◽  
Chandur Bhan ◽  
John Pocholo Whitaker Tuason ◽  
...  

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fifth most common cancer globally. Secreted frizzled-related proteins (SFRP) are important elements associated with the Wnt signaling pathway, and its dysregulated expression is found in multiple cancers. However, the function of distinct SFRPs in GC remains poorly understood. We investigated the differential expression, prognostic value, and immune cell infiltration of SFRPs in gastric cancer patients from the Oncomine, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), UALCAN, Kaplan–Meier plotter, cBioPortal, STRING, Gene-MANIA, DAVID, MethSurv, and TIMER databases. We found that the expression levels of SFRP2 and SFRP4 were significantly increased in GC tissues, whereas the SFRP1 and SFRP5 expressions were reduced. SFRP1, SFRP2, and SFRP5 were significantly correlated with the clinical cancer stage in GC patients. Higher expression of SFRPs was associated with short overall survival (OS) in GC patients. Besides, high SFRPs methylation showed favorable OS in GC patients. The functions of SFRPs were primarily related to the Wnt signaling pathway, immune system development, and basal cell carcinoma. The expression of SFRPs was strongly correlated with immune infiltrating cells, including CD4+ T cells and macrophages in GC. Our study indicated that SFRPs could be potential targets of precision therapy and prognostic biomarkers for the survival of GC patients.


2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1618) ◽  
pp. 20120345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Runcie ◽  
Ralph T. Wiedmann ◽  
Elizabeth A. Archie ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Gregory A. Wray ◽  
...  

Variation in the social environment can have profound effects on survival and reproduction in wild social mammals. However, we know little about the degree to which these effects are influenced by genetic differences among individuals, and conversely, the degree to which social environmental variation mediates genetic reaction norms. To better understand these relationships, we investigated the potential for dominance rank, social connectedness and group size to modify the effects of genetic variation on gene expression in the wild baboons of the Amboseli basin. We found evidence for a number of gene–environment interactions (GEIs) associated with variation in the social environment, encompassing social environments experienced in adulthood as well as persistent effects of early life social environment. Social connectedness, maternal dominance rank and group size all interacted with genotype to influence gene expression in at least one sex, and either in early life or in adulthood. These results suggest that social and behavioural variation, akin to other factors such as age and sex, can impact the genotype–phenotype relationship. We conclude that GEIs mediated by the social environment are important in the evolution and maintenance of individual differences in wild social mammals, including individual differences in responses to social stressors.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Howard ◽  
Mary Cushman ◽  
Maciej Banach ◽  
Brett M Kissela ◽  
David C Goff ◽  
...  

Purpose: The importance of stroke research in the elderly is increasing as America is “graying.” For most risk factors for most diseases (including stroke), the magnitude of association with incident events decreases at older ages. Potential changes in the impact of risk factors could be a “true” effect, or could be due to methodological issues such as age-related changes in residual confounding. Methods: REGARDS followed 27,748 stroke-free participants age 45 and over for an average of 5.3 years, during which 715 incident strokes occurred. The association of the “Framingham” risk factors (hypertension [HTN], diabetes, smoking, AFib, LVH and heart disease) with incident stroke risk was assessed in age strata of 45-64 (Young), 65-74 (Middle), and 75+ (Old). For those with and without an “index” risk factor (e.g., HTN), the average number of “other” risk factors was calculated. Results: With the exception of AFib, there was a monotonic decrease in the magnitude of the impact across the age strata, with HTN, diabetes, smoking and LVH even becoming non-significant in the elderly (Figure 1). However, for most factors, the increasing prevalence of other risk factors with age impacts primarily those with the index risk factor absent (Figure 2, example HTN as the “index” risk factor). Discussion: The impact of stroke risk factors substantially declined at older ages. However, this decrease is partially attributable to increases in the prevalence of other risk factors among those without the index risk factor, as there was little change in the prevalence of other risk factors in those with the index risk factor. Hence, the impact of the index risk factor is attenuated by increased risk in the comparison group. If this phenomenon is active with latent risk factors, estimates from multivariable analysis will also decrease with age. A deeper understanding of age-related changes in the impact of risk factors is needed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 496-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Yang Wang ◽  
Yun Peng Chu ◽  
Yong Yao ◽  
Yu Ping Zhu

China is a developing country, and also a quake-prone country. On the one hand is the Special national conditions that per capita energy shortage and frequent earthquakes, on the other hand is the social economy development and people's living environment requirements continue to increase, both of them raised new requirement of China’s residence system development. Light steel structure residence is energy conservation , environmental protection, safety and seismic, these unique advantages just to meet the current development of residential industry in China, so it has a good development prospect. This article start from the realistic background, around the application and development of our country’s light steel structure residence presently, mainly introduced the characteristics of light steel structure residence, the impact of construction industry, and the social benefits, environmental benefits, housing industrialization effective and comprehensive benefits it can produce.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 225-228
Author(s):  
Z. Safarova ◽  
M. Khodzhieva

Abstract. Article presents data on the dynamics of blood pressure under the influence of the social environment and changes in diet, as well as the impact of various diseases.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 915-919
Author(s):  
Krasimira Stefanova Petrova

Pre-school age is an intensive period in the life of a person which offers great potential for development. The dimensions of the impact of the social environment (children, parents and other adults) on the child’s personality are multifaceted. This accounts for the emphasis on social norms, goals and ideals. Education is the one factor that can best provide the socialization of adolescents.The changes in modern society have led to redefining the parenting patterns for bringing up children. The role of the family as an environment for transferring social experience has never lost its significance. Children need continuous care in order to handle societal failures; they need support for mastering the culture of behavior, as well as timely and appropriate help for ensuring conflict-free communication and for enabling them to take responsibility for their own choices and actions.Psychological studies show that various factors influence both the upbringing of children as well as the parents’ attitudes towardsthem. The relevant factors include: the childhood experiences of the parents; the unrealized needs of the parents; interpersonal relations in the family that are characterized by emotional depth and style that are considered to have established "a standard".The parameters of the actuality of the research problem are based on the interrelationship of the social and educational aspects that are related to the position of the child and his personal assertion in society:- Atpre-schoolage, thechildgraduallyfitsintothesocialsystem, whichistheresult of learningexperiences, actionsandrelationships, awarenessandrediscovery of theselfandtheworld of otherpeople.- Thechildbecomesaware of thenorms of behaviorandthemeaning of actions–their ownandother people’s - andlearns to takeresponsibilityfortheiractions.- Oneyearbeforeschool starts, the childdevelopstheability to accepttheposition of othersand to takeintoaccounttheirownandothers’perspective.- For a successfulpersonalrealization, itisimportantforchildren to havetheskills to worktogetherandcommunicatein a group. Thisisthecompetencethatdirectstheirbehaviortowardsco-ordination, co-operationandsynergy.The abovementioned specific features of the child's personality are the result of the intentional educational interactions between the kindergarten and the family and are related to the acquisition of knowledge, rules and norms, and of value-oriented patterns that define behavior. The foundations for thisare laid during the pre-school age and are considered the most stable and lasting, often referred to as the "basic personality structure". Along with them, the "behavioral potential" of the child, which is demonstrated at different ages, is shaped and developedthrough upbringing. Consequently, behavior is seen as a specific manifestation of the personality associated with its selective attitude towards the influence of various factors in the social environment. The direction of the educational activitiesinspires the motivation for personal behavior aiming at growth and self-actualization. Hence, the presence of a certain skill level which imposes a new approach to learning - replacing the mechanical reproduction with the acquisition of competences for and attitudes towards interaction in a changing environment. What is appropriate for achieving these goals is the applicationof functional models for cooperation, individualization and differentiation of the educational process. These ensure that the child is provided with conditions for activity and for mastering basic, sustainable rules for conscious participation and development that are important for the success of each of his activities. This is a type of social education that is achieved through exploring the social fabric andacquiring the skills for learning, choosing and communicating.


2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R Lanza ◽  
Daniel K Short ◽  
Kevin R Short ◽  
Yan W Asmann ◽  
Sreekumar Raghavakaimal ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rakhshan Kamran ◽  
Giulia Coletta ◽  
Janet M. Pritchard

Purpose: The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) suggests health behaviour can be modified by enhancing knowledge of health benefits and outcome expectations of changing behaviour, improving self-efficacy (confidence), and developing goals to overcome barriers to behaviour change. This study aimed to determine the impact of student-led nutrition workshops on participants’ confidence related to SCT constructs for making dietary choices that align with evidence-based nutrition recommendations. Methods: Level-4 Science students developed and delivered 9 workshops on nutrition recommendations for the prevention and management of age-related diseases. Participants attending the workshops completed pre- and post-surveys to assess SCT constructs. For each SCT construct, participants rated their confidence on a 10-point Likert scale. The number (%) of participants who rated their confidence as ≥8/10 on the pre- and post-surveys were compared using the χ2 test. Results: Sixty-three community members (60% female, mean ± SD age 71 ± 7 years) attended the workshops. The number of participants rating confidence as ≥8/10 for each SCT construct increased after the workshops (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Undergraduate students can positively influence community members’ confidence for making nutrition-related decisions. Involving students in interventions where SCT-structured workshops are used may help conserve health care resources and reach older adults who may not have access to dietitian services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Pratt ◽  
Claire Pernat ◽  
Linda Kerandi ◽  
Azul Kmiecik ◽  
Cathy Strobel-Ayres ◽  
...  

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