ABSTRACT
Infants with severe enteritis and associated prolonged thymic atrophy during the first six months of life showed persistent cell-mediated immune deficiency between the ages of three and five years. Experimental investigations show that early intrauterine and extrauterine stress may lead to permanent cell-mediated immune deficiency and an imbalanced immune response. Trends in disease frequency among different population groups may be influenced in part by the immunity of the host.
Subject(s)
Enteritis/immunology , Immunity, Cellular , Animals , Child , Child, Preschool , Dinitrochlorobenzene/immunology , Enteritis/diagnostic imaging , Guinea Pigs , Humans , Immunization , Immunoglobulin A/analysis , Immunoglobulin G/analysis , Immunoglobulin M/analysis , Immunoglobulins/analysis , Infant , Radiography , Skin Tests , Thymus Gland/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Malnutrition, infectious and toxic stress, hormonal and enzymatic deficiencies as well as graft versus host reactions during the last trimester of pregnancy and during the first six months of life lead to persistent depressions of cell mediated immunity. The subsequent imbalance between the cell mediated and humoral system of immunity leads to differences in disease prevalence in poor and rich populations. Particularly leprosy, tuberculosis, viral disease as for instance frequently fatal measles and diseases due to complexes between humoral antibody and bacterial components as for example acute rheumatic fever occur with increased frequency in B (+) T (-) populations. Desturbances of immune surveillance due to suppression of specific cell mediated immune function leads to an increased frequency of neoplasia, particularly B-cell lymphoma and gastrointestinal tumors. Populations in which the T-cell system can mature without interference show a trend towards diseases in which excessive T-cell response plays a major role, as for instance rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, terminal ileitis, autoimmune angiopathies, multiple sclerosis and possibly also disseminated lupus erythematodes.
Subject(s)
Fetal Diseases/complications , Immunity , Infant Nutrition Disorders/immunology , Morbidity , Neoplasms/etiology , Autoimmune Diseases/etiology , B-Lymphocytes , Developing Countries , Diarrhea, Infantile/immunology , Female , Humans , Immune Complex Diseases/etiology , Immunity, Cellular , Immunoglobulins/analysis , Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes/etiology , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Small for Gestational Age , Neoplasms/immunology , Placenta Diseases/complications , Pregnancy , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/immunology , Socioeconomic Factors , Stress, Physiological/immunology , T-LymphocytesABSTRACT
The cell mediated immunity as expressed by 2,4 DNCB skin sensitivity was measured in 50 healthy Iranian orphans of the age from 15 years. Complete records of the development of these children from birth were available. Children with severe gastroenteritis leading to marasmus and temporary thymic atrophy during the first 6 months of life showed a persistent atopy 1-5 years later. Less severe disease during this time lead to hyporesponsiveness. Similar stress after the 6th month of life did not lead to persistent changes in their cell mediated immunity. The implications of this for the epidemiology of neoplasia and infectious disease are discussed.
