Comparative study of the heterophil phagocytic function in young and old ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) and its relationship with melatonin levels.

A functional connection between the pineal gland (via the hormone melatonin) and the immune system has been suggested. In our previous results in the ring dove, we observed diurnal oscillations in the levels of this neurohormone in young animals and a decline in its plasma levels with advancing age (which is accompanied by the absence of diurnal rhythm). We also noted enhanced phagocytic activity of heterophils from old animals after in vitro incubation with both physiological and pharmacological doses of melatonin. Here, we evaluate the functional capacity of ring dove (Streptopelia risoria) heterophils in young (2 years of age) and old (8 years and more) animals at different times of day (0:00, 10:00 and 16:00, the times when the maximum, minimum, and mean values, respectively, of melatonin levels are observed in young animals). The phagocytic capacities for the ingestion of latex beads and Candida albicans were evaluated, as well as the oxidative metabolism which accompanies phagocytosis. At all three times of day studied, the heterophil phagocytic function with both latex and C. albicans was significantly greater in the young than in the old animals, and in the young animal cells it was significantly higher at 0:00. In addition, in the presence of latex beads, there was a significant decline at 10:00 and 0:00 of superoxide anion levels in the young animals relative to the old. In the young animals, there was a decline at 0:00 in comparison with both 10:00 and 16:00, and in the old animals there was a decline at both 0:00 and 16:00 compared with 10:00. These results could be due, at least in part, to the absence of a diurnal rhythm of melatonin in old animals, and to an enhancing effect of that hormone on young animals' heterophil phagocytic function, which would also neutralize the oxidative stress deriving from this immune function.