Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Determining Immune System Suppression versus CNS Protection for Pharmacological Interventions in Autoimmune Demyelination
Published on: September 12, 2016
Immunodepression secondary to malnutrition: assay by lymphocyte subset analysis using monoclonal antibodies and the
Insights
Malnutrition in children leads to immunodepression. This study in mice found that while malnutrition impairs immune function, it does not alter the T helper to T suppressor-cytotoxic lymphocyte ratio, suggesting a different mechanism for this immunoincompetence.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Hospitalized children often suffer from malnutrition, leading to increased morbidity and mortality.
- This malnutrition-induced immunodepression is a significant clinical concern, impacting patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying immunological mechanisms of immunodepression in acute and chronic malnutrition.
- To determine if an altered T helper (TH) to T suppressor-cytotoxic (TS-C) lymphocyte ratio contributes to malnutrition-associated immunoincompetence.
Main Methods:
- An experimental murine model of malnutrition was established using graded protein restriction (2.5% protein diet) in A/J mice.
- Immune function was assessed using fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) for lymphocyte subset populations (THY 1.2, LYT 1, LYT 2) and mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) assays.
Main Results:
- Malnourished mice exhibited significantly reduced immune function as measured by MLC reactivity, indicating immunodepression.
- The study found no inversion of the TH to TS-C lymphocyte ratio in malnourished animals, contrasting with findings in burned or traumatized patients.
Conclusions:
- Malnutrition significantly depresses immune function in mice.
- The mechanism of immunodepression in malnutrition is not mediated by a reversal of the T helper to T suppressor-cytotoxic lymphocyte ratio, unlike in other stress conditions.
Abstract:
It has been well documented that the hospitalized child frequently is malnourished, and the considerably greater morbidity and mortality of such children, in large part, is due to the associated secondary immunodepression. To assess the mechanism of such immunodepression in acute and chronically malnourished subjects, we chose an experimental murine model of malnutrition. Immune function was assayed by lymphocyte subset population and mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) assessment, determining whether an alteration of the T helper (TH) to T suppressor-cytotoxic (TS-C) lymphocyte ratio is the mechanism that produces immunoincompetence in malnutrition. Ten-week-old A/J mice were rendered acutely or chronically malnourished by graded protein restriction using a 2.5% protein diet. These animals were studied before and after protein depletion with the fluorescent activated cell sorter (FACS) and the MLC. FACS cell populations were defined by the monoclonal antibodies to THY 1.2, LYT 1 (TH), and LYT 2 (TS-C) antigens. MLC reactivity was assessed with A/J v C 57 BL/6 mouse lymphocytes and expressed as a stimulation index (S.I.). Results are expressed in Table 1, and suggest that these malnourished animals were significantly immunodepressed as measured in the MLC reaction. However, the mechanism of this depression is not mediated by an inversion of the TH/TS-C ratio. These data contrast with those previously reported for the immunodepression of the burned or traumatized patient in which the TH/TS-C ratios are reversed; these data suggest that a different, as yet to be elucidated, mechanism exists for the immunodepression of malnutrition.
