Effects of malnutrition on children's immunity to bacterial antigens in Northern Senegal

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Mar;90(3):566-73. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0657. Epub 2014 Jan 20.

Abstract

To evaluate immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases according to nutritional status, a longitudinal study was conducted in Senegalese children ages 1-9 years old. A linear regression analysis predicted that weight for age was positively associated with immunoglobulin G (IgG) response to tetanus toxoid in children born during the rainy season or at the beginning of the dry season. A relationship between village, time of visits, and levels of antibodies to tetanus showed that environmental factors played a role in modulating humoral immunity to tetanus vaccine over time. Moreover, a whole-blood stimulation assay highlighted that the production of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in response to tetanus toxoid was compromised in stunted children. However, the absence of cytokine modulation in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-purified protein derivatives and phytohemagglutinin suggests that the overall ability to produce IFN-γ was preserved in stunted children. Therefore, these results show that nutritional status can specifically alter the efficacy of long-lasting immunity to tetanus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology*
  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology*
  • Child
  • Child Nutrition Disorders / immunology*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Clostridium tetani / immunology
  • Cytokines / immunology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Humoral / immunology
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology*
  • Infant
  • Interferon-gamma / immunology*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / immunology
  • Senegal
  • Tetanus Toxoid / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Cytokines
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Tetanus Toxoid
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens
  • Interferon-gamma