title: The effect of protein restriction on the development of protective immunity to Leishmania mexicana.
abstract: Protein deprived C57BL/6 mice infected with 10(3) amastigotes of Leishmania mexicana showed early arrest of lesion progression during the first 5 weeks of infection with subsequent development of progressive non-healing lesions. In contrast, well nourished mice similarly infected developed gradual healing lesions. The early resistance of malnourished mice to 10(3) amastigotes was overcome by a larger dose. After a primary inoculation with 10(3) amastigotes protein deprived mice failed to express protective immunity to a challenge inoculum given at 5 weeks of infection. When challenge was delayed until 10 weeks, protein deprived mice developed lesions at the site of challenge which tended to regress but were unable to manifest the high level of protective immunity seen in normally nourished reinfected controls. A challenge infection given at 5 or 10 weeks prejudiced the control of primary lesions particularly in the group of protein deprived mice challenged at 10 weeks. Equivalent levels of specific delayed hypersensitivity responses were found in protein deprived and normally nourished uninfected mice immunized with killed parasites which imply that the impaired protective immunity observed in protein deprived mice is not due to a deleterious effect of protein deprivation on the ability of the host to develop cellular responses such as delayed type hypersensitivity to Leishmania antigens.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins