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Direct and chemosignal-mediated effects of immune activation on behavior, glucocorticoid level, and body temperature in male mice during social conflict

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Abstract

Behavioral and physiological effects mediated by activation of immune system response to the injection with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) have been established to be mediated by chemosignal modification to a considerable extent while conducting experiments on BALB/cLac and C57Bl/6j male mice. Control mice of both strains have been characterized by the same increase of plasma coricosterone concentrations caused by territorial conflict between the control and SRBC-treated males; hence, the quality of bedding did not have an effect on hormonal response. The greatest level of plasma corticosterone in SRBC-treated mice was detected after dyadic tests of social conflict in the case of provided bedding from the control mice. The bedding odor also determined the agonistic behavior of more aggressive male BALB/cLac mice. Dyadic tests staged on bedding from SRBC-treated males led to a decrease in the amount of direct aggression in comparison to tests on bedding from control males; moreover, the number of aggressive demonstrations positively correlated with the increase of the rectal temperature, which might be considered a manifestation of the emotional reaction to territorial conflict.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630091, Russia

    I. E. Kolosova, D. V. Petrovski & M. P. Moshkin

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  1. I. E. Kolosova
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  2. D. V. Petrovski
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  3. M. P. Moshkin
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Correspondence to I. E. Kolosova.

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Original Russian Text © I.E. Kolosova, D.V. Petrovski, M.P. Moshkin, 2010, published in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Biologicheskaya, 2010, No. 2, pp. 223–230.

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Kolosova, I.E., Petrovski, D.V. & Moshkin, M.P. Direct and chemosignal-mediated effects of immune activation on behavior, glucocorticoid level, and body temperature in male mice during social conflict. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 37, 179–185 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359010020135

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