Protein malnutrition promotes dysregulation of molecules involved in T cell migration in the thymus of mice infected with Leishmania infantum.

ABSTRACT: Protein malnutrition, the most deleterious cause of malnutrition in developing countries, has been considered a primary risk factor for the development of clinical visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Protein malnutrition and infection with Leishmania infantum leads to lymphoid tissue disorganization, including changes in cellularity and lymphocyte subpopulations in the thymus and spleen. Here we report that protein malnutrition modifies thymic chemotactic factors by diminishing the CCL5, CXCL12, IGF1, CXCL9 and CXCL10 protein levels in infected animals. Nevertheless, T cells preserve their migratory capability, as they were able to migrate ex vivo in response to chemotactic stimuli, indicating that malnutrition may compromise the thymic microenvironment and alter in vivo thymocyte migration. Decr

SUBMITTER: Losada-Barragan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5387407 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature