Thymic Microenvironment Is Modified by Malnutrition and Leishmania infantum Infection.

ABSTRACT: Detrimental effects of malnutrition on immune responses to pathogens have long been recognized and it is considered a main risk factor for various infectious diseases, including visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Thymus is a target of both malnutrition and infection, but its role in the immune response to Leishmania infantum in malnourished individuals is barely studied. Because we previously observed thymic atrophy and significant reduction in cellularity and chemokine levels in malnourished mice infected with L. infantum, we postulated that the thymic microenvironment is severely compromised in those animals. To test this, we analyzed the microarchitecture of the organ and measured the protein abundance in its interstitial space in malnourished BALB/c mice infected or not with

SUBMITTER: Losada-Barragan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6639785 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature