AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 73(1), 2005, pp. 178-187
Copyright © 2005 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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THE REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINE RESPONSE TO PLASMODIUM VIVAX INFECTION IN HONDURANS

MICHAEL P. MUEHLENBEIN*, JACKELINE ALGER, FRANK COGSWELL, MARK JAMES, AND DONALD KROGSTAD
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Departamento de Laboratorios Clinicos, Hospital Escuela, Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, Louisiana; Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana

Reproductive physiology and endocrinology change with the onset of illness and injury in a variety of species, including humans. To assess the human reproductive endocrine response to malaria, serial serum samples were collected from 8 male and 9 female residents of Honduras infected with Plasmodium vivax (plus 19 male and 23 female healthy age-matched controls) and were analyzed for associations between testosterone, parasitemia, and cytokine levels. Because testosterone has been negatively associated with measures of immune function under various circumstances, it was hypothesized that testosterone would be directly associated with P. vivax parasitemia and inversely associated with proinflammatory cytokine levels. The findings presented here suggest that 1) testosterone levels are positively associated with P. vivax parasitemia in adult males, and 2) males infected with P. vivax exhibit significantly lower testosterone levels and significantly higher cortisol levels than healthy individuals. Depressed androgen levels during physiologic perturbations may be an advantageous, adaptive host response to ameliorate immunosuppression by higher testosterone levels and to curb the use of energetic resources for metabolically expensive anabolic functions.

Received January 4, 2005. Accepted for publication February 25, 2005.

Acknowledgments: Permission to conduct this research was granted by the Health Area No. 4, Health Region No. 6, Dept. de Colon, Honduras. This project was approved by the Yale University Human Subjects Committee. The following individuals provided valuable logistical support: Nadia Abdala, Rosa Acosta, Richard Bribiescas, Susan Durham, Norma Funez, Daisy Guardiola, Robert Heimer, Reyna Hernandez, Rafael Linares, Leann Myers, Jaime Rosales, Geoffrey Routh, Stephen Stearns, Walker Umaña, David Watts, and the staff of Tocoa Hospital. This work would not have been possible without the gracious participation of the Honduran people.

Financial support: Funding was provided by the Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology at Tulane National Primate Research Center, the Department of Tropical Medicine and Center for Infectious Diseases at Tulane University, and the Williams Fund and Graduate School Summer Study Fund from Yale University.

* Address correspondence to Michael P. Muehlenbein, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201. E-mail: mpm1{at}uwm.edu

Authors’ addresses: Michael P. Muehlenbein, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, Telephone (414) 229-6250, Fax: (414) 229-5848, E-mail: mpm1{at}uwm.edu. Jackeline Alger, Departamento de Laboratorios Clinicos, Hospital Escuela, P.O. Box 3051, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, E-mail: malaria{at}cablecolor.hn. Frank Cogswell, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, 18703 Three Rivers Road, Covington, LA 70433, Telephone: (985) 871-6224, E-mail: cogswell{at}tpc.tulane.edu. Mark James, Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, Telephone: (504) 584-2503, E-mail: mjames{at}tulane.edu. Donald Krogstad, Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, Telephone: (504) 584-3552, E-mail: krogstad{at}tulane.edu.

Reprint requests: Michael P. Muehlenbein, Laboratory for Evolutionary Physiology and Parasitology, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3413 N. Downer Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211, Phone: (414) 229-6250, Fax: (414) 229-5848, E-mail: mpm1{at}uwm.edu






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