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Published on: October 1, 2007
Nutrition disorders and immunologic parameters: study of the thymus in growing rats
A N Pallaro1, M E Roux, N H Slobodianik
1Department of Nutrition, School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. apallaro@ffyb.uba.ar
Objectives:
We studied the effect of a low-quality dietary protein on cellular proliferation and maturation in the thymus of growing rats over time.
Methods:
After weaning Wistar rats were fed a diet containing 6.5 g/100 g of corn flour for 6, 10, 18, and 45 d (M groups). For comparison, other rats were fed a diet containing 6.5 g/100 g of casein (Cas groups), and well-nourished age-matched control rats were fed a commercial laboratory diet (C groups). Food intake, body weight, thymus weight, total number of thymocytes, and the percentages of CD43(+) and Thy1(+) thymocyte phenotypic antigen determinants were measured.
Results:
M versus Cas and C groups showed significant differences (P < 0.01) in body and thymus weights after 6 d of feeding, and the total number of thymocytes and the percentages of CD43(+) and Thy1(+) were significantly lower after 10 d of feeding. The results indicated that consuming a cereal diet for short or long periods causes thymus atrophy in growing rats, with significant reductions in the total number of T-cells concomitant with increases in the number of immature thymocytes.
Conclusions:
The data showed that, in addition to low-protein concentration, low-quality dietary protein is a limiting factor in certain steps of cellular intrathymic pathways, probably related to the requirement of specific amino acids for optimal immune response.
