Abnormal regulatory control of the antibody response to heterologous erythrocytes in protein-calorie malnourished mice

Abstract

Using an adoptive cell transfer system into lethally irradiated hosts or stimulation with antigen in vitro we have observed that the direct plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) of spleen cells from C57BL/6 mice kept on a protein-deficient diet (D) was higher than the response of spleen cells from normally fed controls (N). To study the influence of protein restriction on the suppressor activity in the spleen, groups of D and N mice were sensitized with 2 × 10 9 SRBC and 14 days later their spleen cells were inoculated into syngeneic recipients along with 2 × 10 8 SRBC. Transfer of antigen-sensitized spleen cells from D donors produced significantly less suppression of the PFC response of the recipients than transfer of antigen-sensitized N cells. The suppressor activity increased when D mice were changed to the normal diet 72 hr before immunization. Dietary restriction of the recipients markedly depressed the suppressor effect induced by inoculation of antigen-sensitized spleen cells. It is suggested that nutritional restriction causes selective depletion of cells contributing to the regulation of the antibody response to SRBC.