Zinc and immunocompetence in protein-energy malnutrition.
Malnourished children have thymic atrophy which is reversed by zinc supplementation. To see if their defect in cell-mediated immunity was also associated with zinc deficiency ten children were skin-tested with Candida antigen on both arms. One test site was covered with local zinc sulphate and the other with placebo ointment. There was a highly significant increase in the typical delayed-hypersensitivity reaction at the site covered with zinc. The magnitude of the difference between the supplemented and unsupplemented arms correlated negatively with the plasma-zinc concentration. These data show that zinc deficiency is a cause of the immunoincompetence seen in malnutrition. The normal reactions of the zinc-supplemented side indicate that, of the many nutritional deficits of malnourished children, zinc deficiency specifically impairs the cell-mediated immune system. Local skin-testing with and without zinc may provide a measure of zinc status. Local application of zinc may enhance the reliability of tests to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis in malnourished patients.
D000917:Antibody Formation; D000946:Antigens, Fungal; D001284:Atrophy; D002175:Candida / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000175:diagnosis; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D007223:Infant; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000276:immunology*; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000276:immunology
D000946:Antigens, Fungal; D015032:Zinc