EFFECTS OF KWASHIORKOR SERUM ON LYMPHOCYTE-TRANSFORMATION INVITRO

Abstract

The serum from 12 children with kwashiorkor was deficient in its ability to support lymphocyte transformation in vitro; lymphocytes from these children responded to phytohemagglutinin and allogeneic lymphocytes in a relatively normal manner when cultured in normal serum. This serum abnormality improved with therapy and could not be clearly correlated with the degree of malnutrition, the presence or absence of infection or other laboratory manifestations of kwashiorkor. Defective cellular immune reactions in kwashiorkor may be symptomatic of a lack of some humoral factor and not an intrinsic cellular defect.