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. 2014 Aug 11;5:379. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00379

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Copyright © 2014 Gerriets and MacIver.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Malnutrition leads to changes in adipocyte-secreted hormones and T cell number and function. Malnutrition leads to decreased adipocyte mass, which results in decreased circulating leptin. Concurrently, malnourished individuals show changes in CD4+ and CD8+ T cell number and function, leading to increased susceptibility to infection and protection against certain forms of autoimmunity. Leptin may mediate a subset of these malnutrition-related changes to T cell number and function, as leptin is known to alter CD4+ T cell number and cytokine production.