Mw.drs. R. (Ruth) Adriaansen-Tennekes: “Individual differences in sensitivity to immunomodulation by feed in layer hens”

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20 Nov 2009 16:00
Unit: Wageningen University
Location: Aula, building 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation: Wageningen University
Promotor: prof.dr. H.F.J. Savelkoul (Cell Biology and Immunology)
Promotor: Prof.dr.ir. B. Kemp
Co Promotor: Dr.ir. H.K. Parmentier

 Stress sensitivity determines dietary modulation of immunity
 
Stress reactivity is the basis of individual differences in a population as well as immunomodulation by diet. In the end the environment determines if adaptations by diet are or are not beneficial for the individual.
 
In nature there is a great amount of diversity. Darwin investigated the diversity in species. Yet within a population there is also great diversity. The reason for this is when threatening situations occur for a population the chances increase that at least some individuals will survive due to individual differences. A good example of this is the plague more than a century ago: most of the people within a village would die, but there were always a few survivors. Differences in disease susceptibility is related to differences in stress sensitivity. This relationship relies on if stress is perceived in different situations and how it then is handled.

Using differences in stress reactivity was the starting point to investigate individual differences in sensitivity for dietary enhancement/modulation of immunity. Determining enhancement of immunity is difficult, as we do not know how "better" may be defined. However such differences in stress reactivity do show a relationship with sensitivity for dietary triggering of the immune system. Animals that are more environmentally sensitive, and thus show more stress when there are environmental changes, are also more sensitive to diet changes.

We also examined what effects there were of a diet change on the chicks of the hens from the former experiment. All chicks showed physiological adaptation to the new diet, but the adaptations themselves were related to the individual stress sensitivity. Next to the found changes in immunity of all the chicks, the environmentally sensitive animals also showed an altered hormonal regulation. Therefore a new diet can also have an effect on stress hormones as well as stress reactivity.
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