The Relationship of the Protein-Reserves to Antibody-Production

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions Rabbits were subjected to diets predominantly deficient in protein in order to ascertain the extent to which depletion of the protein-reserves may influence ability to produce antibacterial agglutinins. No attempt was made to provide a completely adequate intake of vitamins although considerable quantities of several types of vitamins were available in the diet. The purpose, rather, was to determine the effects of severe starvation upon the antibody-forming mechanism. Both young and adult animals were compared with animals of similar age but fed a well-balanced diet. Protein-depletion was determined at intervals before and at the time of antigenic stimulation by the estimation of the total-serum-protein values of the blood. The following conclusions are drawn: Young rabbits made hypoproteinemic by a low-protein diet exhibited a definitely lessened capacity to produce agglutinins when compared with rabbits of similar age but fed a well-balanced diet.Adult rabbits made hypoproteinemic by a low-protein diet or by a lowprotein diet supplemented by plasmapheresis also exhibited a lessened capacity to produce agglutinins as compared with animals of similar age but supplied with an adequate diet.The possible relationship of these findings to conditions of malnutrition associated with severe protein-deficiency and an increased susceptibility to infectious disease is discussed.