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Dehydroepiandrosterone and multiple measures of functional immunity in young adults
Author(s) -
Prall Sean P.,
Muehlenbein Michael P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.22724
Subject(s) - dehydroepiandrosterone , immunocompetence , immune system , testosterone (patch) , hormone , saliva , medicine , endocrinology , androgen , dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate , innate immune system , immunology , biology , immunity
Objectives Human immune function is strongly influenced by variation in hormone concentrations. The adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone‐sulfate (DHEA‐S) are thought to be beneficial to immune function and disease resistance, but physiologically interact with testosterone and cortisol. We predict that DHEA and DHEA‐S will interact with these other hormones in determining immunological outcomes. Understanding the interactive effects of these hormones will aid in understanding variability in immunocompetence and clarify discrepancies in human studies of androgen–immune interactions. Methods Thirty‐eight participants collected morning saliva over three days, from which concentrations of DHEA, DHEA‐S, testosterone, and cortisol were measured, as well as salivary bacteria killing ability to measure innate immune function. From blood collection, serum was collected to measure innate immune function via a hemolytic complement assay, and whole blood collected and processed to measure proliferative responses of lymphocytes in the presence of mitogens. Results DHEA was negatively correlated with T cell proliferation, and positively correlated with salivary bacteria killing in male participants. Additionally, using regression models, DHEA‐S was negatively associated with hemolytic complement activity, but interaction variables did not yield statistically significant relationships for any other outcome measure. Conclusions While interactions with other hormones did not significantly relate with immune function measures in this sample, DHEA and DHEA‐S did differentially impact multiple branches of the immune system. Generally characterized as immunosupportive in action, DHEA is shown to inhibit certain facets of innate and cell‐mediated immunity, suggesting a more complex role in regulating immunocompetence. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:877–880, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.