title: Adherent cell requirement for the effect of vitamin E on in vitro antibody synthesis.
abstract: Mice deficient in dietary vitamin E are impaired in their humoral and cell-mediated immunological responses. The basis for this impaired immunocompetence was investigated by using the in vitro antibody response as an assay system. Spleen cells from mice fed vitamin E-deficient diets were low responders to the antigens, sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and dinitrophenyl-L-lysine-Ficoll (DNP-Ficoll). However, they responded as well as mice fed vitamin E-supplemented diets to the relatively macrophage-independent antigen trinitrophenylated-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS). This suggested that the macrophage was the cell most affected by the vitamin E deficiency. The involvement of macrophages was confirmed directly by mixing experiments, in which it was shown that macrophages from vitamin E-deficient mice were unable to support an antibody response by macrophage-depleted spleen cells from vitamin E-supplemented mice. Macrophages from vitamin E-deficient mice expressed less Ia antigen, and seemed less able to present antigen to nonadherent cells. However, it was found that macrophages from vitamin E-deficient mice not only lacked accessory cell function, but could act instead as suppressor cells. The effect of dietary vitamin E was noted with either saturated or unsaturated sources of fat in the diet.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D004032:Diet; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D008222:Lymphokines / Q000494:pharmacology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D008222:Lymphokines; D014810:Vitamin E