Browsing by Author "Silva, Juscilene Menezes da"

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    Antigenic dietary protein guides maturation of the host immune system promoting resistance to Leishmania major infection in C57BL/6 mice.
    (2010) Amaral, Joana Ferreira do; Santos, Ana Cristina Gomes; Silva, Josiely Paula; Nicoli, Jacques Robert; Vieira, Leda Quercia; Faria, Ana Maria Caetano de; Silva, Juscilene Menezes da
    The immature immune system requires constant stimulation by foreign antigens during the early stages of life to develop properly and to create efficient immune responses against later infections. We have previously shown that intake of antigenic dietary protein is critical for inducing maturation of the immune system as well as for the development of T helper type 1 (Th1) immunity. In this study, we show that administration of an amino acid (aa)-based diet during the development of the immune system subsequently resulted in inefficient control of Leishmania major infection in adult C57BL/6 mice. Compared with mice fed a control protein-containing diet, adult aa-fed mice showed a decreased interferon (IFN)-c response to parasite antigens and insufficient production of nitric oxide (NO), which is crucial to parasite death. However, no deviation towards Th2-specific immunity to L. major was observed. Phenotypic analysis of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) from aa-fed mice revealed deficient levels of the costimulatory molecules CD40 and CD80, and low levels of interleukin (IL)-12 produced by peritoneal macrophages, revealing an early stage of maturation of these cells. APCs isolated from aa-fed mice were unable to stimulate a Th1 response in vitro. Both phenotypic features of T cells from aa-fed mice and their ability to produce a Th1 response in the presence of mature APCs were unaffected when compared with T cells from control mice. The results presented here support the notion that regulation of Th1 immunity to infection includes environmental factors such as dietary proteins, which provide a natural source of stimulation that contributes to the process of maturation of APCs.
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    Immunoglobulin production is impaired in protein-deprived mice and can be restored by dietary protein supplementation.
    (2006) Amaral, Joana Ferreira do; Foschetti, Daniela Abreu; Assis, Frankcinéia Aparecida de; Vaz, Nelson Monteiro; Silva, Juscilene Menezes da; Faria, Ana Maria Caetano de
    Most contacts with food protein and microbiota antigens occur at the level of the gut mucosa. In animal models where this natural stimulation is absent, such as germ-free and antigen-free mice, the gutassociated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and systemic immunological activities are underdeveloped. We have shown that food proteins play a critical role in the full development of the immune system. C57BL/ 6 mice weaned to a diet in which intact proteins are replaced by equivalent amounts of amino acids (Aa diet) have a poorly developed GALT as well as low levels of serum immunoglobulins (total Ig, IgG, and IgA, but not IgM). In the present study, we evaluated whether the introduction of a protein-containing diet in 10 adult Aa-fed C57BL/6 mice could restore their immunoglobulin levels and whether this recovery was dependent on the amount of dietary protein. After the introduction of a casein-containing diet, Aa-fed mice presented a fast recovery (after 7 days) of secretory IgA (from 0.33 to 0.75 mg/mL, while in casein-fed mice this value was 0.81 mg/mL) and serum immunoglobulin levels (from 5.39 to 10.25 mg/mL of total Ig). Five percent dietary casein was enough to promote the restoration of secretory IgA and serum immunoglobulin levels to a normal range after 30 days feeding casein diet (as in casein-fed mice - 15% by weight of diet). These data suggest that the defect detected in the immunoglobulin levels was a reversible result of the absence of food proteins as an antigenic stimulus. They also indicate that the deleterious consequences of malnutrition at an early age for some immune functions may be restored by therapeutic intervention later in life.