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Breakdown of immunity to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in lactating rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Jos G. M. Houdijk ,
Neil S. Jessop ,
David P. Knox  and
Ilias Kyriazakis
Jos G. M. Houdijk*
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition and Health Department, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
Neil S. Jessop
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, The University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
David P. Knox
Affiliation:
Moredun Research Institute, Pentland Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik EH26 0PZ, UK
Ilias Kyriazakis
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition and Health Department, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Jos Houdijk, fax +44 131 5353121, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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The nutritional basis of breakdown of immunity to parasites may be addressed in a rodent model. We hypothesized that lactating rats would show a breakdown of immunity to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, and that this breakdown of immunity would be sensitive to protein supply. Rats were immunized with 1600 infective N. brasiliensis larvae and subsequently mated. During lactation, these rats were offered foods with 90 (low protein; LP) or 210 (high protein, HP) g crude protein (N X 6.25)/kg and re-infected with 400, 800 or 1600 larvae on day 2 post-parturition. Immunized non-reproducing rats were offered a food containing 60 g crude protein/kg and re-infected with 1600 larvae. Seven days after secondary infection, lactating rats had more adult nematodes in their small intestine and nematode eggs in their colon contents than the non-reproducing rats. Protein supply did not affect worm or egg counts, although LP rats carried relatively more female nematodes than the HP rats. All lactating rats had lower intakes than expected from previous studies using similar nutritional protocols. This may have resulted in insufficient protein supply, even for the HP rats, and this could explain the absence of effects of protein supply on egg and worm counts. We conclude that a breakdown of immunity to N. brasiliensis can occur in lactating rats; this strongly suggests that the lactating rat is a suitable model for elucidating a possible nutritional basis of breakdown of immunity to parasites. However, sufficient protein intake must be achieved to address the hypothesis that breakdown of immunity to N. brasiliensis is sensitive to protein supply.

Keywords

Nippostrongylus brasiliensisNutritionImmunityLactating rats
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 90 , Issue 4 , October 2003 , pp. 809 - 814
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

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