Differential gender effects of a reduced-calorie diet on systemic inflammatory and immune parameters in nonhuman primates

Background and Objective: Dietary manipulation, including caloric restriction, has been shown to impact host response capabilities significantly, particularly in association with aging. This investigation compared systemic inflammatory and immune-response molecules in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Material and Methods: Monkeys on continuous long-term calorie-restricted diets and a matched group of animals on a control ad libitum diet, were examined for systemic response profiles including the effects of both gender and aging. Results: The results demonstrated that haptoglobin and alpha 1-antiglycoprotein levels were elevated in the serum of male monkeys. Serum IgG responses to Campylobacter rectus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis were significantly elevated in female monkeys. While only the antibody to Fusobacterium nucleatum was significantly affected by the calorie-restricted diet in female monkeys, antibody levels to Prevotella intermedia, C. rectus and Treponema denticola demonstrated a similar trend. Conclusion: In this investigation, only certain serum antibody levels were influenced by the age of male animals, which was seemingly related to increasing clinical disease in this gender. More generally, analytes were modulated by gender and/or diet in this oral model system of mucosal microbial challenge.