Defective antigen-presenting capacity of murine dendritic cells during starvation

Significant impairments of several aspects of immunity have been described in acute and chronic nutritional deficiencies; however, there have been few studies on antigen-presenting cells during starvation. We examined the antigen-presenting capacities of mouse dendritic cells (DCs) from lymphoid organ (spleen DCs) and non-lymphoid tissue (liver DCs) during starvation. The total numbers of spleen DCs and liver DCs were significantly fewer in starved mice than in control mice. Functional analysis showed that the proliferative activities of spleen DCs and liver DCs were significantly impaired in starved mice compared with control mice. In particular, liver DCs from starved mice were unable to induce interferon-gamma. Liver DCs from starved mice were unable to induce proliferation of antigen-specific memory lymphocytes. These data indicated that one major cause of impairment of immunologic responses during starvation may be mediated through DCs.