Cortisol expression has been demonstrated to have variation across development in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). There exists contradictory evidence for the nature of this change, and age at which it occurs, across biological sample types. Consequently, we lack a cohesive understanding for cortisol concentrations across the development of a major human health translational model. We examined hair cortisol concentrations over the first 3 years of life for 49 mother-reared infant macaques from mixed-sex outdoor units at the California National Primate Research Center. For 48 of these subjects at infancy, 1 year, and 2 years, we obtained plasma cortisol samples for response to a stressor, adjustment to prolonged stress, and response to dexamethasone injection. Hair cortisol concentrations decreased dramatically between 3 and 10 months, followed by relative stability up to the final sampling event at around 34 months of age. Plasma cortisol showed within-year consistency, and consistency between infancy and year 1. We document variability in the infant plasma cortisol samples, especially in percent change between samples 1 and 2. Our plasma cortisol results indicate that infants possess the physiological capacity to effectively inhibit the release of cortisol when stimulated, as effectively as later responses in juveniles. Age-related changes in hair cortisol parallel findings indicating a large decline in the weeks following postparturation.

中文翻译：

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幼年恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）发育前 3 年的毛发和血浆皮质醇

皮质醇表达已被证明在恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）的发育过程中存在差异。对于不同生物样本类型中这种变化的性质及其发生的年龄，存在相互矛盾的证据。因此，在主要人类健康转化模型的开发过程中，我们对皮质醇浓度缺乏一致的理解。我们检测了来自加州国家灵长类动物研究中心混合性别室外饲养室的 49 只母猴幼年猕猴在出生后头 3 年的毛发皮质醇浓度。对于其中 48 名婴儿期、1 岁和 2 岁受试者，我们获取了血浆皮质醇样本，以了解对压力源的反应、对长期压力的调整以及对地塞米松注射的反应。头发皮质醇浓度在 3 至 10 个月之间急剧下降，随后相对稳定，直到 34 个月左右的最终采样事件。血浆皮质醇显示出一年内的一致性，以及婴儿期和第一年之间的一致性。我们记录了婴儿血浆皮质醇样本的变异性，特别是样本 1 和样本 2 之间的百分比变化。我们的血浆皮质醇结果表明，婴儿具有有效抑制的生理能力。受到刺激时皮质醇的释放，与青少年随后的反应一样有效。与年龄相关的头发皮质醇变化平行的发现表明，在产后几周内皮质醇大幅下降。