Noninvasive measurement of mucosal immunity in a free‐ranging baboon population

Ecoimmunological patterns and processes remain understudied in wild primates, in part because of the lack of noninvasive methods to measure immunity. Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) is the most abundant antibody present at mammalian mucosal surfaces and provides an important first line of defense against pathogens. Recent studies show that sIgA can be measured noninvasively in feces and is a good marker of mucosal immunity. Here we validated a commercial ELISA kit to measure fecal IgA in baboons, tested the robustness of its results to variation in collection and storage conditions, and developed a cost‐effective in‐house ELISA for baboon fecal IgA. Using data from the custom ELISA, we assessed the relationship between fecal IgA concentrations and gastrointestinal parasite burden, and tested how sex, age, and reproductive effort predict fecal IgA in wild baboons. We find that IgA concentrations can be measured in baboon feces using an in‐house ELISA and are highly correlated to the va...野生非人灵长类的生态免疫学模式与过程仍未得到充分研究，部分原因在于缺乏无创性免疫检测手段。分泌型免疫球蛋白A（Secretory Immunoglobulin A, sIgA）是哺乳动物黏膜表面含量最为丰富的抗体，亦是抵御病原体的重要第一道防线。近期已有研究证实，sIgA可通过粪便样本无创检测，且是黏膜免疫状态的优良标志物。本研究首先验证了一款商用酶联免疫吸附试验（Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, ELISA）试剂盒在狒狒粪便IgA检测中的适用性，检验了其检测结果对样本采集与储存条件差异的稳健性，并开发了一种高性价比的狒狒粪便IgA实验室自制ELISA检测方法。借助该实验室自制ELISA的实验数据，本研究评估了狒狒粪便IgA浓度与胃肠道寄生虫负荷之间的关联，并分析了性别、年龄与繁殖投入对野生狒狒粪便IgA水平的预测效应。本研究发现，通过实验室自制ELISA可检测狒狒粪便中的IgA浓度，且其检测结果与……高度相关。