Why Do We Feel Sick When Infected—Can Altruism Play a Role?

Shakhar, Keren; Shakhar, Guy

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002276

Cited by 93 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 89 publications

(114 reference statements)

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“…For example, several snake carcasses found near an infected hibernaculum were thought to have prematurely emerged from the den site and succumbed to night-time frosts (the electronic supplementary material). Additional research focused on the relationship between host body temperature and SFD progression may explain why infected snakes exhibit unusual behaviours and whether such 'sickness behaviours' are effective in combatting infection as has been proposed in other animals [23].…”

Section: Pathogenesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Snake fungal disease: an emerging threat to wild snakes

Lorch

Knowles

Lankton

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

196

241

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Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola , a fungus recently split from a complex of fungi long referred to as the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV). Here we review the current state of knowledge about O. ophiodiicola and SFD. In addition, we provide original findings which demonstrate that O. ophiodiicola is widely distributed in eastern North America, has a broad host range, is the predominant cause of fungal skin infections in wild snakes and often causes mild infections in snakes emerging from hibernation. This new information, together with what is already available in the scientific literature, advances our knowledge of the cause, pathogenesis and ecology of SFD. However, additional research is necessary to elucidate the factors driving the emergence of this disease and develop strategies to mitigate its impacts. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience’.

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Section: Pathogenesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Snake fungal disease: an emerging threat to wild snakes

Lorch

Knowles

Lankton

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

196

241

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“…In 1988, Hart 81 first argued that sickness behaviour is not a maladaptive response to infection but rather a coordinated behavioural strategy to promote host survival. A more recent hypothesis attributes sickness behaviour to altruism and kin selection 82 ; that is, sickness behaviour provides an evolutionary advantage to survival of the herd 83,84 . Interestingly, it has been reported that, if the infected host does not elicit overt sickness behaviour, they may increase their propensity to aggregate 85 .…”

Section: A Virus-versus-host Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How and why do T cells and their derived cytokines affect the injured and healthy brain?

2017

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The evolution of adaptive immunity provides enhanced defence against specific pathogens, as well as homeostatic immune surveillance of all tissues. Despite being ‘immune privileged’, the CNS uses the assistance of the immune system in physiological and pathological states. In this Opinion article, we discuss the influence of adaptive immunity on recovery after CNS injury and on cognitive and social brain function. We further extend a hypothesis that the pro-social effects of interferon-regulated genes were initially exploited by pathogens to increase host–host transmission, and that these genes were later recycled by the host to form part of an immune defence programme. In this way, the evolution of adaptive immunity may reflect a host–pathogen ‘arms race’.

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“…In order to see if activation of the host immune system plays a role in the behavioural changes (i.e. sickness behaviour; Shakhar and Shakhar, 2015;Hart, 1988), we administered LPS (Pepels et al, 2004) to non-parasitized sticklebacks. LPS is known to create an in vitro immune response from stickleback head kidney leukocytes that is similar to the response measured by exposing the same cell line to S. solidus tissues (Scharsack et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

Hébert

Berger

Barber

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Sticklebacks infected by the parasitic flatworm Schistocephalus solidus show dramatic changes in phenotype, including a loss of species-typical behavioural responses to predators. The timing of host behaviour change coincides with the development of infectivity of the parasite to the final host (a piscivorous bird), making it an ideal model for studying the mechanisms of infection-induced behavioural modification. However, whether the loss of host anti-predator behaviour results from direct manipulation by the parasite, or is a by-product (e.g. host immune response) or side effect of infection (e.g. energetic loss), remains controversial. To understand the physiological mechanisms that generate these behavioural changes, we quantified the behavioural profiles of experimentally infected fish and attempted to replicate these in non-parasitized fish by exposing them to treatments including immunity activation and fasting, or by pharmacologically inhibiting the stress axis. All fish were screened for the following behaviours: activity, water depth preference, sociability, phototaxis, anti-predator response and latency to feed. We were able to change individual behaviours with certain treatments. Our results suggest that the impact of S. solidus on the stickleback might be of a multifactorial nature. The behaviour changes observed in infected fish might result from the combined effects of modifying the serotonergic axis, lack of energy and activation of the immune system.

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Why Do We Feel Sick When Infected—Can Altruism Play a Role?

Cited by 93 publications

References 89 publications

Snake fungal disease: an emerging threat to wild snakes

Snake fungal disease: an emerging threat to wild snakes

How and why do T cells and their derived cytokines affect the injured and healthy brain?

Can the behaviour of threespine stickleback parasitized with Schistocephalus solidus be replicated by manipulating host physiology?

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