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Effects of antihelminthic treatment on cell-mediated immunity in Gentoo penguin chicks

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Abstract

Intestinal parasites suppose a cost to hosts as they compete directly for nutritional resources. Therefore, hosts must defend themselves against intestinal parasites by mounting an immune response. Many penguin species acquire parasites through their diet and transfer these parasites to their chicks when feeding them. High parasite loads in penguin chicks could have effects on their growth and body condition, and ultimately on their survival. Here, we evaluated the effect of parasites on the cell-mediated immune system in Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) chicks at Stranger Point (25 de Mayo/King George Island, South Shetland Islands). To this end, 12 chicks were experimentally deparasitized with a mixture of anthelminthic drugs (albendazole and praziquantel), whereas 10 others were kept as control. We measured cutaneous cell-mediated immunity in response to immunization with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). We also analyzed the leukocyte profile in both treated and control groups before and after the treatment. After the treatment, deparasitized birds showed larger foot-web swelling in response to PHA injection than control birds. Deparasitized penguins also showed lower eosinophil and monocyte counts than controls, whereas heterophils, lymphocytes, and total white blood cell counts did not differ between groups. Our results suggest that Gentoo penguin chicks parasitized with intestinal parasites suffer a cost in terms of reduced cell-mediated immune responses that could ultimately affect their survival.

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Acknowledgments

We very much appreciate the hospitality and logistic support of the Argentinean Antarctic Base “Carlini (ex Jubany).” We thank the logistic support provided by the Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA-DNA). We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions that helped improve our manuscript. AB was supported by the Project CTM2011-24427 funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Permits for working in the study area and for penguin handling were issued by the Dirección Nacional del Antártico, Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecophysiology Applied to Management and Conservation of Wildlife, Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET), Brown 2915 (9120), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Marcelo Bertellotti, Verónica L. D’Amico & María Gabriela Palacios

  2. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

    Andrés Barbosa

  3. Department of Biology of Top Predators, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Néstor Coria

Authors
  1. Marcelo Bertellotti
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  2. Verónica L. D’Amico
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  3. María Gabriela Palacios
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  4. Andrés Barbosa
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  5. Néstor Coria
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Correspondence to Marcelo Bertellotti.

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Bertellotti, M., D’Amico, V.L., Palacios, M.G. et al. Effects of antihelminthic treatment on cell-mediated immunity in Gentoo penguin chicks. Polar Biol 39, 1207–1212 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1839-0

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