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 on

SUBMITTER: Cuervo-Escobar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4275170 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature