title: T-cell populations and cytokine expression are impaired in thymus and spleen of protein malnourished BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania infantum.
abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic infectious disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Although infections with visceralizing Leishmania may be asymptomatic, factors such as undernutrition increase the likelihood of progressing to clinical disease. Protein malnutrition, the most deleterious cause of malnutrition in developing countries, has been considered as a primary risk factor for the development of clinical VL. However, data regarding the immunological basis of this association are scarce. With the aim to analyze the effects of protein malnutrition on Leishmania infantum infection, we used BALB/c mice subjected to control or low protein isocaloric diets. Each animal group was divided into two subgroups and one was infected with L. infantum resulting in four study groups: animals fed 14% protein diet (CP), animals fed 4% protein diet (LP), animals fed 14% protein diet and infected (CPi), and animals fed 4% protein diet and infected (LPi).The susceptibility to L. infantum infection and immune responses were assessed in terms of body and lymphoid organ weight, parasite load, lymphocyte subpopulations, and cytokine expression. LPi mice had a significant reduction of body and lymphoid organ weight and exhibited a severe decrease of lymphoid follicles in the spleen. Moreover, LPi animals showed a significant decrease in CD4+CD8+ T cells in the thymus, whereas there was an increase of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells percentages in the spleen. Notably, the cytokine mRNA levels in the thymus and spleen of protein malnourished-infected animals were altered compared to the CP mice. Protein malnutrition results in a drastic dysregulation of T cells and cytokine expression in the thymus and spleen of L. infantum-infected BALB/c mice, which may lead to defective regulation of the thymocyte population and an impaired splenic immune response, accelerating the events of a normal course of infection.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Hormonas, Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cuervo-Escobar
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Losada-Barragán
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Hormonas, Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Umaña-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Porrozzi
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saboia-Vahia
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas, IPEC, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luisa H M
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fernanda N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Morgado
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas, IPEC, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Hormonas, Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Pesquisa em Leishmaniose, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cuervo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009929:Organ Size; D059208:Parasite Load; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines