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Long-term study on wild monkeys in Thailand reveals health risks and opportunities for intervention
Maternal stress hormone levels during early pregnancy can have a lasting effect on the stress system of the offspring. The results of a long-term study on wild Assamese macaques in Thailand indicate that maternal stress in the first half of pregnancy is particularly relevant. Elevated stress hormones later during pregnancy or after birth did not have the same effects. The long-term study conducted by the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research provides important insights into the influence of early life stages on the development of the stress system under natural environmental conditions (Proceedings of the Royal Society B).
Influence of very early life stages
The research team investigated how maternal stress affects the stress hormone system of the offspring. They found that the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which plays a central role in coping with stress, can be significantly influenced by exposure to maternal glucocorticoids during development. The early phase of organ differentiation in the first half of pregnancy proved to be a particularly critical period. “Our results show that the HPA-axis activity of offspring was enhanced, the more adversity the other had experienced during early pregnancy – which could be food shortages or social conflicts for example,” says Simone Anzá, former doctoral student at the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center and first author of the study.
Investigation in the wild
In contrast to studies in the laboratory, the monkeys were observed in their natural habitat. Over a period of nine years, the researchers repeatedly collected fecal samples from pregnant females and measured the concentration of glucocorticoid metabolites in them in order to determine the animals' exposure to environmental factors such as food scarcity, temperature fluctuations and social interactions. These values were compared with the stress hormone levels of the offspring at different ages. The effects on the stress axis of the offspring were evident from infancy through the juvenile period and into adulthood at nine to ten years of age. Previous analyses from the same study had already shown that early prenatal stress was also associated with altered growth, negative changes in the gut microbiome and impaired immune function, underlining the comprehensive influence of the environment in the early prenatal period on various physiological systems. In contrast, maternal glucocorticoid levels in late pregnancy or during lactation had no or different influences.
Relevance for health research
“Our research results indicate that the timing of maternal stress hormone exposure during and after pregnancy crucially affects the consequences for the development and health of the offspring. It is also important to note that these effects do not require catastrophic events, but that even moderate changes in environmental conditions are sufficient,” says Oliver Schülke, scientist at the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center and head of the study. Stress in early pregnancy can also have a long-term effect on health in humans and increase the risk of stress disorders and immune problems. “Our findings may help to identify the timing and mechanisms that preventive measures should address in order to reduce long-term health risks,” says Oliver Schülke.
Contact and notes for editors
PD Dr. Oliver Schülke
Phone: +49 (0) 551 3923926
Email: oschuelke@dpz.eu
Dr. Susanne Diederich (Communication)
Phone: +49 (0) 551 3851-359
Email: sdiederich@dpz.eu
Printable pictures are available here: https://medien.dpz.eu/pinaccess/showpin.do?pinCode=jwzSlsy1y1mz
You will also find the press release on our website. Please send us a reference copy or link in case of publication.
The German Primate Center GmbH (DPZ) – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research conducts biological and biomedical research on and with primates in the fields of infection research, neuroscience and primate biology. The DPZ also maintains four field stations in the tropics and is a reference and service center for all aspects of primate research. The DPZ is one of the 96 research and infrastructure facilities of the Leibniz Association.
PD Dr. Oliver Schülke
Phone: +49 (0) 551 3923926
Email: oschuelke@dpz.eu
Anzà S, Heistermann M, Ostner J, Schülke O. 2024 Early prenatal but not postnatal glucocorticoid exposure is associated with enhanced HPA axis activity into adulthood in a wild primate. Proc. R. Soc. B 291: 20242418.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2418
https://medien.dpz.eu/pinaccess/showpin.do?pinCode=jwzSlsy1y1mz Printable pictures
A female Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis) with her infant at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thail ...
Thawat Wisate
Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH
A female Assamese macaque (Macaca assamensis) with her infant at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thail ...
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