The ability of C57B1/6J mice maintained for 8 weeks on Se-normal (0.20 ppm Se) and Se-supplemented (2.00 ppm Se) Torula yeast-based diets to generate cytotoxic macrophages and to produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interferon (IFN-γ) was examined. Cytotoxic peritoneal exudate macrophages, generated in vivo by allostimulation with P815 cells, from Se-supplemented animals exhibited significantly greater capacity to kill tumor cells and to produce TNF-α than macrophages from Se-normal animals. However, the same amounts of IFN-γ were produced by spleen lymphocytes from allostimulated animals from both groups. The increase in macrophage-mediated tumor cytotoxicity was not detectable when macrophages from both Se-normal and Se-supplemented animals were acitvated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide and recombinant IFN-γ. These results indicated that Se supplementation does not affect the ability of macrophages to become activated. The significantly greater amounts of TNF-α present in cultures from macrophages...
To define the effects of iron deficiency on interleukin-2 (IL-2) production, C57BL/6 weanling female mice were fed an iron deficient diet (10 ppm: ID), an iron adequate diet (50 ppm: C) or restricted amounts of the iron adequate diet (pairfed=PF) for 34 days. IL-2 production was studied in spleen cells stimulated with either 2.5 µg or 5 µg Con A/ml. The IL-2 activity in the resulting supernatants was tested by its capacity to sustain the growth and cell division of the IL-2 dependent CTLL-2 cell line. Iron defiency but not undernutrition significantly reduced IL-2 activity measured by ³H-thymidine incorporation into DNA of CTLL-2 cells. In parallel, proliferative response to Con A was also significantly impaired and positively correlated with IL-2 activity. While both IL-2 activity and proliferative response positively and significanly correlated with parameters of the iron status (Hb, Hct, liver iron stores), they only slightly and in general not significantly correlated with general measurements of nutr...
The importance of vitamin A on immune system functions can be demonstrated, in part, by in vitro studies of blood or tissue lymphocytes obtained from animals or human beings. Mitogenic responsiveness of splenic T-cells was depressed in vitamin A-defi-cient rats, as compared to pair-fed controls, at different stages of vitamin A restriction. However, the impairment in mitogenic responsiveness of T-cells from peripheral blood did not become apparent until vitamin A deprivation was well established. Smaller degrees of impairment were also seen in the pair-fed control rats, demonstrating the concomitant importance of energy intake. Other important variables were identified by studying the in vitro mitogenic responsiveness of lymphocytes to antigens to which the rats had been previously exposed. Important variables (which could influence the results of dietary deprivation studies) included the sources of the lymphocytes, differences in routes of immunization, and the systemic activation caused by adju...
Constant dietary intake of the group IIb metal Zn is essential for growth and development, as well as for the functional integrity of most, if not all, of the tissue/organ systems in the body. Included amongst these, and arguably the most Zn-dependent, is the immune system; not only does severe Zn deficiency have rapid and profound detrimental effects on absolute numbers and functional states of the lymphoid cells but the immune system is compromised even in mild Zn deficiency, when many other tissues of the body are relatively unaffected. Any consideration of the role of Zn in normal cellular physiology must take into account this extreme sensitivity of the immune cells to Zn depletion. In this review, I will commence with the more descriptive studies of the influence of Zn nutrition on the development and function of the immune system in vivoand in vitro. I will then focus on recent studies concerning the role of Zn in growth, survival, signal transduction and other metabolic events in lymphoid...
In July 1994, the U.S.D.A. Western Human Nutrition Research Center and the University of California at Davis co-sponsored a symposium on “New Approaches to Define Nutrient Requirements.” A major objective of the symposium was to define functional parameters of human health which could be used in determining future recommended dietary allowances (RDA). This paper reviews the compelling evidence that certain vitamins and other micronutrients given in levels above the current RDA have critical, beneficial effects on human immune responses. Thus, the argument is made that immune function should be considered in the development of the next national nutrition recommendations.
Bovine colostrum contains factors that may regulate the activity of the immune system in newborns, but this regulatory effect has not been studied in normal or immunodepressed human adult subjects....
Observations in humans and macaques suggest that ingestion of an excess of alfalfa sprouts can induce systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Feeding L-canavanine increased the incidence of autoimmune symptoms in several strains of mice. The presence of L-canavanine in alfalfa sprouts could result in the synthesis of proteins rich in L-canavanyl residues and subsequent recognition of these modified endogenous proteins as foreign. The original purpose of this long-term study in BALB/c mice was to determine whether ingestion of L-canavanine did induce an SLE-like disorder by such a mechanism. Analysis of mortality patterns observed during that investigation of diet-induced autoimmune disease suggests that L-canavanine increases murine longevity. Eighteen female BALB/c mice were fed a diet containing 1.56% L-canavanine sulfate (equivalent to 1% L-canavanine base). Eighteen other mice received a control diet. The animals were monitored for the presence of anti-nucleic acids and survival. There was no evi...
The effects of feeding peas as the source of protein on growth, nutritional utilization and immune response were investigated in mice. Final body weights as well as liver, tibia and spleen relative weights decreased significantly, while an enlargement was observed in intestine and thymus proportions. Food intake was similar in both dietary groups, but lower values for protein efficiency ratio (weight gain:protein intake) were observed in the legume fed animals. Serum glucose and cholesterol levels were not affected by the dietary treatment, although a significant decrease in serum triglycerides as well as total serum proteins and β-globulins were found in those mice fed on the diet containing peas. The percentage of the splenic T cells (Thy 1+) after immunolabelling with monoclonal antibodies was significantly increased by the legume diet. Splenic helper T cells (L3T4+) were also increased, while no changes in the percentage of splenic cytotoxic/suppressor T cells (Ly 2+) were observed. The IL-2 ...
Nutrition in Clinical PracticeVolume 5, Issue 5 p. 200-206 Article A Key to the Literature of Nutrition and Immunology Joseph A. Lacy, Joseph A. Lacy Nutrition Support Service University of Cincinnati Medical Center Cincinnati OhioSearch for more papers by this authorMichelle Yost, Michelle Yost Dietary Department, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OhioSearch for more papers by this author Joseph A. Lacy, Joseph A. Lacy Nutrition Support Service University of Cincinnati Medical Center Cincinnati OhioSearch for more papers by this authorMichelle Yost, Michelle Yost Dietary Department, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OhioSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 October 1990 https://doi.org/10.1177/0115426590005005200AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume5, Issue5October 1990Pages 200-206 RelatedInformation
Objective: Large epidemiological studies have linked decreased concentrations of carotenoids to increased risk for precan-cerous and cancerous lesions and immune dysfunction. Given this possible link between carotenoids and disease risk, we measured serum carotenoids, Vitamin A and Vitamin E in patients at different stages of HIV infection to see if these micronutrients were affected by advanced disease. Methods: Serum from 57 patients, including 18 patients with 500 CD4 cells/mm3, and 27 HIV seronegative controls was evaluated for concentrations of beta carotene, alpha carotene, lutein, lycopene, beta cryptoxanthin, Vitamin A, gamma toco-pherol and Vitamin E. Results: HIV infected patients at all stages of disease have significantly decreased concentrations of beta carotene, alpha carotene and beta cryptoxanthin compared to seronegative controls. Carotenoid levels were lowest in patients with CD4 < 200 cells/mm3. Vit...
Although studies conducted over the last twenty-five years have demonstrated that vitamin A and related retinoids are immune enhancers, the use of vitamin A and related retinoids to enhance responses to immunization has been limited. Numerous animal studies have now demonstrated that vitamin A and related retinoids, when given at or prior to immunization, will enhance antibody responses and cell-mediated immune responses to protein antigens. Recent studies with humans show that vitamin A supplementation enhances the IgG response to tetanus toxoid, and that related retinoids can be used to enhance antibody responses to protein antigens. Vitamin A enhances immune responses to poor immunogens, and this may be relevant to vaccines which are characterized by low se-roconversion rates. Although most known adjuvants have too many side effects for human use, vitamin A and related retinoids appear to enhance antibody and cell-mediated immunity without severe side effects. Vitamin A, through its metabolite...
In retrospect, the foundations for Nutritional Immunology emerged in the early 1800s with the finding that severe malnutrition would lead to thymic atrophy, and for most of that century, all evidence for a relationship between malnutrition and the immune system was based on anatomical findings. With the discovery of vitamins, it became evident that single essential nutrients each played an important role in host resistance. During the 1920s and 1930s, vitamin A became known as the “anti-infective” vitamin, and the first attempts were made to use vitamin A therapeutically during infectious illnesses. With the gradual emergence of knowledge about the details of immune system functions, malnutrition was found to depress humoral immunity (by reducing the production of antibodies to vaccines), cell mediated immunity (by inducing anergy to skin tests), and allergic symptoms. But the first systematic studies of immunonutritional interrelationships in laboratory animals were initiated in 1947 by Abraham ...
Actions of β-carotene isomers including all-trans-, 9-cis, and 13-cis-β-carotene and a β-carotene isomer mixture extracted from alga were examined in regard to T-helper (Th) cell function for antibody (Ab) production. β-carotene isomers did not significantly enhance in vitro Ab production by murine spleen cells, which may be partly due to the paucity of antigen (Ag)-specific Th cells. We thus replaced Th cells in spleen cell suspensions with Ag-specific Th clones in order to increase the frequency of Ag-specific Th cells. Then β-carotene isomers' effects on in vitro Ab production were reassessed. In this system, the enhancing actions of β-carotene isomers on Ab production were more evident compared to controls: (1) when cells were stimulated with suboptimal doses of Ag, and (2) when a type-2 T-helper (Th2) cell clone was used. The effects of all-trans-and 9-cis-β-carotene did not differ significantly, but the effects of 13-cis-β-carotene on Th clones was less than those exhibited by other β-carot...
(1996). Adjuvant Properties of Different Forms of Vitamin A in Avian Vaccines. Journal of Nutritional Immunology: Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 63-69.
