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First published online March 21, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 1287-1295 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01531
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Androgen control of immunocompetence in the male house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus Müller

Pierre Deviche* and Luis Cortez

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: deviche{at}asu.edu)

Accepted 7 February 2004

The immunocompetence handicap (ICH) hypothesis predicts that elevated levels of the gonadal androgen testosterone (T) entail obligatory costs, such as immunosuppression, but evidence supporting this immunosuppressive influence is equivocal. To investigate this question, adult males house finches, Carpodacus mexicanus, were exposed to short days and chronically treated with T-filled (T males; N=10) or empty (C males; N=10) Silastic capsules. Testosterone administration increased plasma T levels and the size of the cloacal protuberance, an androgen-dependent secondary sexual characteristic. To study humoral immunity, finches received injections of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and we measured circulating concentrations of antibodies to these cells with a hemagglutination test. All males produced antibodies following four SRBC injections at weekly intervals. Antibody titers in T and C males did not differ 5 days after the fourth injection, but were 59% lower in T than C males 2 weeks later. To study cell-mediated immunity, we measured the local inflammatory response to an injection of phytohemaglutinin (PHA). This response in T and C males was similar 1 day after PHA injection, but was 58% less in T than C males 2 days following the injection. Thus, T and C males mounted similar humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, but T treatment compromised maintenance of these responses. The results, demonstrating immunosuppressive effects of elevated T, are consistent with the ICH hypothesis.

Key words: androgen, cell-mediated immunity, humoral immunity, immunocompetence handicap hypothesis, inflammation




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