Work

Urinary neopterin, a non-invasive marker of mammalian cellular immune activation, is highly stable under field conditions

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Studying immunity and immune function in ecology and evolution requires field studies, but there has been a dearth of non-invasive markers of immune activation available for studying large wild mammals. Recently, we analytically and biologically validated the measurement of urinary neopterin (NEO), a biomarker of cellular immune activation, in captive macaques. However, applying this to free-ranging settings is complicated by issues involving sample collection, processing, storage, and transport. Here, we collected urine samples from captive macaques and undertook experiments simulating common field issues. We tested the effects on urinary NEO sample measurements following: dirt and faecal contamination; storage at room temperature; differences in processing and long-term storage methods (freezing, lyophilising, blotting onto filter paper); and freeze-thaw cycles. Our results show that concentrations of urinary NEO are highly stable--they are not affected by soil or faecal contamination, can be collected on filter paper and stored for many months frozen or lyophilised with minimal effect, and are resistant to multiple 24 hr freeze-thaws. With the addition of a biocidal preservative, concentrations are even stable at room temperature for long periods. Urinary NEO is remarkably resilient, and is highly suitable for non-invasive field studies of cellular immune responses in wild large mammals.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/srep16308

Authors: Michael Heistermann, James P. Higham

Institutions: German Primate Center, New York University

Language: English

Topic: Animal health and immunology

Subfield: Small Animals

Field: Veterinary

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,690

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft