Variations in immune parameters with age in a wild rodent population and
links with survival
Abstract
Recent findings suggest that immune functions do not unidirectionally
deteriorate with age but that a potentially adaptive remodelling where
functions of the immune system get down regulated while others get
upregulated with age could also occur. Scarce in wild populations,
longitudinal studies are yet necessary to properly understand the
patterns and consequences of age variations of the immune system in the
wild. In the meanwhile, it is challenging to understand if the observed
variations in immune parameters with age are due to changes at the
within-individual level or to selective (dis)appearance of individuals
with peculiar immune phenotypes. Thanks to a long-term and longitudinal
monitoring of a wild population of Alpine marmots, we aimed to
understand within- and between-individual variation in the immune
phenotype with age, in order to improve our knowledge about the
occurrence and the evolutionary consequence of such age-variations in
the wild. To do so, we recorded the age-specific leukocyte concentration
and profile in repeatedly sampled dominant individuals. We then tested
whether the potential changes with age were more likely due to
within-individual variations and/or selective (dis)appearance. Finally,
we investigated if the leukocyte concentration and profiles were
correlated to the probability of death at a given age. The leukocyte
concentration was stable with age, but the lymphocyte count decreased,
while the neutrophil count increased, over the course of an individual’s
life. Moreover, between individuals of the same age, individuals with
fewer lymphocytes but more neutrophils were more likely to die.
Therefore, selective disappearance seems to play an important role in
the age variations of the immune parameters in this population. Further
investigations linking age variations in immune phenotype to individual
fitness are needed to understand whether remodelling of the immune
system with age could or could not be adaptive.