Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Immunology logoLink to Immunology
. 1974 Mar;26(3):489–495.

Nutrition and immunological responsiveness

T-cell function in the offspring of lipotrope- and protein-deficient rats

B M Gebhardt, P M Newberne
PMCID: PMC1423220  PMID: 4137087

Abstract

The progeny of mothers subjected to marginal lipotrope or moderately low protein diets exhibit deficient humoral immune responses. Serum antibody titres and numbers of antibody-forming cells to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) are lower in the offspring of mothers whose diets were limited in either percentage protein or percentage lipotropes than in offspring whose mothers were fed a complete diet. Immune lymphocyte stimulation by SRBC antigens was marginal and not measurably different between the progeny of malnourished mothers and controls.

The in vitro response of spleen cells from offspring of nutritionally deprived mothers to the T-cell mitogen phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) is considerably less than that of controls. Thymus cells from marginal lipotrope offspring respond well to PHA, suggesting that PHA-reactive cell migration may be inhibited in these animals.

These results, obtained using a T-dependent antigen (SRBC) and a T-dependent mitogen (PHA), support the conclusion that maternal dietary deficiency can adversely affect T-cell function in rat offspring.

Full text

PDF
489

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Borum K. Effect of neonatal thymectomy on the primary haemolysin response and on lymph node cell count in five strains of rats. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand A. 1972;80(2):287–288. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1972.tb02179.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Faubert G., Tanner C. E. Trichinella spiralis: inhibition of sheep hemagglutinins in mice. Exp Parasitol. 1971 Aug;30(1):120–123. doi: 10.1016/0014-4894(71)90077-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Greaves M., Janossy G. Elicitation of selective T and B lymphocyte responses by cell surface binding ligands. Transplant Rev. 1972;11:87–130. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-065x.1972.tb00047.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HARMON B. G., MILLER E. R., HOEFER J. A., ULLREY D. E., LUECKE R. W. Relationship of specific nutrient deficiencies to antibody production in swine. I. Vitamin A. J Nutr. 1963 Mar;79:263–268. doi: 10.1093/jn/79.3.263. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. JERNE N. K., NORDIN A. A. Plaque formation in agar by single antibody-producing cells. Science. 1963 Apr 26;140(3565):405–405. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jose D. G., Good R. A. Quantitative effects of nutritional essential amino acid deficiency upon immune responses to tumors in mice. J Exp Med. 1973 Jan 1;137(1):1–9. doi: 10.1084/jem.137.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kenney M. A., Magee J. L., Piedad-Pascual F. Dietary amino acids and immune response in rats. J Nutr. 1970 Sep;100(9):1063–1072. doi: 10.1093/jn/100.9.1063. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kenny M. A., Roderuck C. E., Arnrich L., Piedad F. Effect of protein deficiency on the spleen and antibody formation in rats. J Nutr. 1968 Jun;95(2):173–178. doi: 10.1093/jn/95.2.173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Konda S., Nakao Y., Smith R. T. Immunologic properties of mouse thymus cells. Identification of T cell functions within a minor, low-density subpopulation. J Exp Med. 1972 Dec 1;136(6):1461–1477. doi: 10.1084/jem.136.6.1461. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lehner T. Cell-mediated immune responses in oral disease: a review. J Oral Pathol. 1972;1(1):39–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mathur M., Ramalingaswami V., Deo M. G. Influence of protein deficiency on 19S antibody-forming cells in rats and mice. J Nutr. 1972 Jul;102(7):841–846. doi: 10.1093/jn/102.7.841. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Meuwissen H. J., Van Alten P. A., Good R. A. Decreased lymphoid cell multiplication in the post-thymectomy state. Transplantation. 1969 Jan;7(1):1–11. doi: 10.1097/00007890-196901000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nalder B. N., Mahoney A. W., Ramakrishnan R., Hendricks D. G. Sensitivity of the immunological response to the nutritional status of rats. J Nutr. 1972 Apr;102(4):535–541. doi: 10.1093/jn/102.4.535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Smythe P. M., Brereton-Stiles G. G., Grace H. J., Mafoyane A., Schonland M., Coovadia H. M., Loening W. E., Parent M. A., Vos G. H. Thymolymphatic deficiency and depression of cell-mediated immunity in protein-calorie malnutrition. Lancet. 1971 Oct 30;2(7731):939–943. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)90267-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sutherland R. M., Inch W. R., McCredie J. A. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced transformation of lymphocytes from patients with cancer. Cancer. 1971 Mar;27(3):574–578. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197103)27:3<574::aid-cncr2820270310>3.0.co;2-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Svet-Moldavsky G. J., Shaghijan G. S., Chernyakhovskaya I. Y., Mkheidze D. M., Litovchenko T. A., Ozeretskovskaya N. N., Kadaghidze Z. G. Inhibition of skin allograft rejection in trichinella-infected mice. Transplantation. 1970 Jan;9(1):69–71. doi: 10.1097/00007890-197001000-00020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yoshinaga M., Yoshinaga A., Waksman B. H. Regulation of lymphocyte responses in vitro. I. Regulatory effect of macrophages and thymus-dependent (T) cells on the response of thymus-independent (B) lymphocytes to endotoxin. J Exp Med. 1972 Oct 1;136(4):956–961. doi: 10.1084/jem.136.4.956. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES