Abstract
The objective of the present investigation was to determine whether acquired immunity can be restored in weanling protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) despite continued wasting disease. Weanling CBA/J mice were subjected to wasting PEM by means of restricted daily intake of a complete diet. The experimental design included ad libitum-fed positive controls. After 9 days all mice were immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). A subgroup of malnourished mice was then given supplements of the endocrine hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), by way of the diet for the remaining 5 days of the experiment. Comparable wasting was achieved, throughout the 14-day experimental period, in the T3-supplemented and -unsupplemented malnourished groups. The latter group exhibited profound depression in primary anti-SRBC antibody response according to the criteria of splenic direct plaque-forming cell count and serum hemagglutinin titer. By contrast, despite extreme splenic atrophy, the T3-supplemented group generated an anti-SRBC hemagglutinin titer which did not differ from that of the positive control animals. Endocrine hormonal intervention, therefore, can enhance acquired immunity in the presence of continued wasting disease even in the weanling stage of life. This new principle has important implications for the early stages in the management of debilitated patients.
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