Meeting Abstract
To meet the demands of an immune challenge during reproduction, a female is theorized to reduce the allocation of resources to reproduction or limit allocation to maintenance. We determined if female mice are exposed to an immune challenge (keyhole limpet haemocyanin; KLH) during reproduction, they experience a reduction in mitochondrial performance and increase in oxidative stress. Laboratory mice were paired with a male until just before giving birth and randomly assigned to one of three groups. Female mice in the control group (LC) were injected with saline 2 days after parturition, and then sacrificed 1 week after weaning. In the lactating immune challenge group (LI), females were treated similarly except they were injected with KLH. Finally, in the pregnant-lactating immune challenge group (PLI), females were treated the same as LI group, except the male was left in the box with the female until 3 days post-partum, so the female was pregnant while lactating. The second litter was born within 3 days of weaning, immediately removed, and females were sacrificed 1 week later. No significant differences were observed in liver or hindlimb skeletal muscle mitochondrial coupling as measured by the respiratory control ratio (RCR). Isolated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species emission in the skeletal muscle was significantly lower in LI compared to LC, but no differences were observed in the liver. Skeletal muscle PGC1-α was significantly reduced in LI mice compared to LC. We also observed various changes in antioxidant protein levels in both tissues. In conclusion, an immune challenge during reproduction has an impact on females that is organ specific and varies with the intensity of the demand.
