The effects of protein malnutrition on macrophage function and the amount and affinity of antibody response.

Abstract

Ajax mice fed a diet with a reduced proportion of protein, cleared carbon more slowly, and produced less antibody of lower affinity, when immunized with human serum transferrin (HST) in saline than did normally fed controls. This finding is discussed in terms of the defective antibody response in protein-malnourished children, and the possible contribution such environmental factors may have on immunopathological and neoplastic effects of infection.