Malnourished children are most likely to die from common infections, not starvation. New experimental evidence in Trends in Immunology, indicates that even with a healthy diet, defects in immune system function from birth could contribute to a malnourished state throughout life. Researchers speculate that targeting immune pathways could be a new approach to reduce the poor health and mortality caused by under- and overnutrition.
The most common form of undernutrition globally is stunting--where children fail to achieve their full height potential. Despite looking healthy, children in developing countries who are stunted in height may also have stunted immune development, making them more vulnerable to death by common infections.
Only recently have researchers had access to technology that can accurately study immunodeficiency. Even though immune parameters in undernourished children have been looked at for decades, much of that data is outdated. How malnutrition and immune function are related is actually still poorly understood; however, there is wide acceptance that malnutrition comes with a range of immune problems. These include reduced numbers of white blood cells, skin and gut membranes that are easier for pathogens to break through, and malfunctioning lymph nodes.
What's also emerging is that the relationship between malnutrition and immune dysfunction may be a bit "chicken and egg," with both causing and being the consequence of the other. Immune dysfunction results when people consume too few calories because of lack of food or have an excess of fat and sugar in their diet. That dysfunction is recorded in the DNA through epigenetic marks, so that if malnourished people have offspring, their children inherit an altered immune system (even after multiple generations). This altered immune system may then cause malnutrition even if children have an adequate diet.
"It's been thought for a long time that the immune system is driving pathology, but new experimental tools have made it possible to separate out the effects of the immune system from those of the diet alone," says the author. "There are new models for environmental enteric dysfunction in mice, a growing interest in microbiota and epigenetics--all of these studies show that the more we look into the immune system, the more it has a role to play in a really wide array of physiological systems. It doesn't just fight infection; it affects metabolism, neurological function, and growth, which are things that are also impaired in malnutrition."
Author imagines a future where clinicians could generate individualized immune readouts that can identify young people most susceptible to infection as a result of malnutrition. This could reduce the burden of a leading cause of child mortality by helping those who are most vulnerable get treated more often and sooner with targeted interventions.
Some could argue that the jury is still out on the immune dysfunction-malnutrition connection. There are many studies that need to be done to fully support the case, such as comparing the developing immune systems of undernourished versus healthy children over time or determining whether restoring certain immune functions could improve the outcomes of malnutrition. Although there remain many unanswered questions, the evidence for a causal role for immune dysfunction in malnutrition continues to grow, and the authors hope their paper will encourage questions and discussion.
http://www.cell.com/trends/immunology/abstract/S1471-4906(16)30006-0
Is malnutrition an immune disorder?
- 1,882 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
Circadian rhythms can influ…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
With hybrid brains, these m…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Blocking activation of NF-κ…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Vitamin D regulates microbi…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Role of alternative splicin…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Other Top Stories
Reactive oxygen species and plant root growth
Read more
A gene co-ordinates plant root stem cell network and division
Read more
How plants are built to be strong and responsive
Read more
Plant baldness gene discovered!
Read more
Gene switch underlying tomato fruit size and domestication
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Single dose creatine improv…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Autonomous circadian rhythm…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Functional sensory circuits…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Positive selection CRISPR s…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Focal clusters of peri-syna…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar