Interactive effects of protein nutrition, genetic growth potential andHeligmosomoides bakeriinfection pressure on resilience and resistance in mice

Abstract

SUMMARYThe ability of animals to cope with an increasing parasite load, in terms of resilience and resistance, may be affected by both nutrient supply and demand. Here, we hypothesized that host nutrition and growth potential interact and influence the ability of mice to cope with different parasite doses. Mice selected for high (ROH) or low (ROL) body weight were fed a low (40 g/kg; LP) or high (230 g/kg; HP) protein diet and infected with 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 L3infectiveHeligmosomoides bakerilarvae. ROH-LP mice grew less at doses of 150 L3and above, whilst growth of ROH-HP and of ROL mice was not affected by infection pressure. Total worm burdens reached a plateau at doses of 150L3, whilst ROH mice excreted fewer worm eggs than ROL mice. Serum antibodies increased with infection dose and ROH mice were found to have higher parasite-specific IgG1 titres than ROL mice. In contrast, ROL had higher total IgE titres than ROH mice, only on HP diets. The interaction between host nutrition and growth potential appears to differentially affect resilience and resistance in mice. However, the results support the view that parasitism penalises performance in animals selected for higher growth.

Evaluation of Biochemical, Hematological and Parasitological Parameters of Protein-Deficient Hamsters Infected with Ancylostoma ceylanicum

“…If they are not converted into energy or other metabolites, excess carbohydrates are converted into fatty acids that are incorporated into triglycerides, which can be stored as fat in adipose tissue [32]. Similar results were observed in experiments in mice, in which a higher percentage of body fat was observed in animals fed with a low-protein diet compared to mice fed with a high-protein diet [33]. Additionally, a decrease in lean body mass was observed in the malnourished animals compared to the control group.…”

Does selection for growth rate in broilers affect their resistance and tolerance to Eimeria maxima?

“…Furthermore, the supposition was that at increasing pathogen doses, the concomitant resource limitation would be greater for the fast-growing line. We appreciate that there are potential confounding issues when making comparisons between hosts of different size as has been pointed out previously ( Coltherd et al, 2011 ), which may arise, for example, from the relative nutrition of the host or parasite dose given to large and small size birds. Accounting for all these factors will make for a very complex experimental design and for this reason we have opted for an experiment where the treatments imposed on both bird genotypes were similar.…”

Effects of protein malnutrition on tolerance to helminth infection

“…The intestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus in laboratory mice is a common model for human and livestock helminth infections [10]. In laboratory mice, H. polygyrus infection may lead to impaired growth and occasionally mortality [11,12]. Strains like C3H or CBA maintain high parasite loads for more than 20 weeks, whereas loads are lower and parasites more rapidly cleared in, for example, SWR and BALB/c mice [13,14], indicating genetic variation for resistance.…”