The effect of carotenoid supplementation on immune system development in juvenile male veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

Butler, Michael W.; McCartney, K. L.; Ligon, R. A.; DeNardo, D. F.; McGraw, K. J.

The effect of carotenoid supplementation on immune system development in juvenile male veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus)

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrient availability, assimilation, and allocation can have important and lasting effects on the immune system development of growing animals. Though carotenoid pigments have immunostimulatory properties in many animals, relatively little is known regarding how they influence the immune system during development. Moreover, studies linking carotenoids to health at any life stage have largely been restricted to birds and mammals. We investigated the effects of carotenoid supplementation on multiple aspects of immunity in juvenile veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus). We supplemented half of the chameleons with lutein (a xanthophyll carotenoid) for 14 weeks during development and serially measured multiple aspects of immune function, including: agglutination and lysis performance of plasma, wound healing, and plasma nitric oxide concentrations before and after wounding.
Results: Though lutein supplementation effectively elevated circulating carotenoid concentrations throughout the developmental period, we found no evidence that carotenoid repletion enhanced immune function at any point. However, agglutination and lysis scores increased, while baseline nitric oxide levels decreased, as chameleons aged.
Conclusions: Taken together, our results indicate that body mass and age, but not carotenoid access, may play an important role in immune performance of growing chameleons. Hence, studying well-understood physiological processes in novel taxa can provide new perspectives on alternative physiological processes and nutrient function.

Title	The effect of carotenoid supplementation on immune system development in juvenile male veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus)
Creator	Butler, Michael W.
	McCartney, K. L.
	Ligon, R. A.
	DeNardo, D. F.
	McGraw, K. J.
Publisher	Frontiers in Zoology
Academic Department	Biology
Division	Natural Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	2014
Date Available	2015-03-06T16:20:56Z
Type	Article
Language	English
Keyword	Innate immunity
	Wound healing
	Nitric oxide
	Antioxidant
	Reptiles
Bibliographic Citation	McCartney, K. L., et al. (2014) "The effect of carotenoid supplementation on immune system development in juvenile male veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus)." Frontiers in Zoology 11 (1): 26.
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.1186/1742-9994-11-26
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/1722
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/1722
Rights Statement	Creative Commons - Attribution
Rights Holders	Butler, Michael W.
	McCartney, K. L.
	Ligon, R. A.
	DeNardo, D. F.
	McGraw, K. J.