Protein-energy malnutrition is the primary cause of immune deficiency in children across the world. It has been related to changes in peripheral T-lymphocyte subsets. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of infection and malnutrition on the proportion of peripheral-lymphocyte subsets in well-nourished non-bacterium-infected (WN), well-nourished bacterium-infected (WNI), and malnourished bacterium-infected (MNI) children by flow cytometry. A prospectively monitored cohort of 15 MNI, 12 WNI, and 17 WN children was studied. All the children were 3 years old or younger and had only bacterial infections. Results showed a significant decrease in the proportion of T CD3 ؉ (P < 0.05 for relative and P < 0.03 for absolute values), CD4 ؉ (P < 0.01 for relative and absolute values), and CD8 ؉ (P < 0.05 for relative values) lymphocyte subsets in WNI children compared to the results seen with WN children. Additionally, B lymphocytes in MNI children showed significant lower values (CD20 ؉ P < 0.02 for relative and P < 0.05 for absolute values) in relation to the results seen with WNI children. These results suggest that the decreased proportions of T-lymphocyte subsets observed in WNI children were associated with infection diseases and that the incapacity to increase the proportion of B lymphocyte was associated with malnutrition. This low proportion of B lymphocytes may be associated with the mechanisms involved in the immunodeficiency of malnourished children.Protein-energy malnutrition is a public health problem in developing countries. Around the world, each year 12 million children under 5 years old die due to the relationship between malnutrition and infectious diseases. Even if malnutrition is very extensive in developing countries, it is rarely considered one of the main mortality causes. However, recent studies indicated that malnutrition in developing countries is an associated death cause in the deaths of more than 50% of children (34). In community studies, a clear relationship between weight decrease and increase of mortality risk has been observed. Also, a solid and systematic relationship between malnutrition and a higher risk of respiratory and diarrhea infections have been detected (27). Several authors have pointed out that malnutrition is the primary cause of immunodeficiency in the world (8,12,32), and it has been related to changes in cellular immunity (8, 29) and changes in peripheral-lymphocyte subsets (mainly CD3 ϩ , CD4 ϩ , and CD8 ϩ ). Nevertheless, results of studies investigating this topic are controversial. In some studies an increase of lymphocyte proportion has been observed; meanwhile, other studies show a decrease in lymphocyte proportions (4,7,10). In a previous study Nájera et al. found no changes in lymphocyte T subsets when malnourished and well-nourished children with bacterial infections were compared (18). These controversial results may be associated with several factors, such as the methods used, the type and degree of malnutrition, and the infection type. For th...

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to determine if the distribution in vivo of CD4 1 CD45RA 1 /CD45RO 2 (naive), CD4 1 CD45RA 1 /CD45RO 1 (Ddull) and CD4 1 CD45RO 1 (memory) lymphocytes differs in malnourished infected and well-nourished infected children. The expression of CD45RA (naive) and CD45RO (memory) antigens on CD4 1 lymphocytes was analysed by flow cytometry in a prospectively followed cohort of 15 malnourished infected, 12 well-nourished infected and 10 well-nourished uninfected children. Malnourished infected children showed higher fractions of Ddull cells (11´4^0´7%) and lower fractions of memory cells (20´3^1´7%) than the well-nourished infected group (8´8^0´8 and 28´1^1´8%, respectively). Well-nourished infected children showed increased percentages of memory cells, an expected response to infection. Impairment of the transition switch to the CD45 isoforms in malnourished children may explain these findings, and may be one of the mechanisms involved in immunodeficiency in these children.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to assess DNA repair capacity in lymphocytes of children with protein calorie malnutrition using the single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay. Repair capacity was assessed by estimating the relative decrease of DNA migration length 5, 15, 30, and 60 min after hydrogen peroxide treatment, in three groups of children: well-nourished (WN), well-nourished infected (WN-I), and malnourished infected (MN-I). In addition, the DNA migration length was evaluated in all groups before and after peroxide treatment. Comparison of mean migration lengths observed in WN and WN-I children showed significant differences at all times tested; between WN-I and MN-I differences were also observed, except after hydrogen peroxide exposure. This implies that lymphocytes of WN-I and MN-I children were equally sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Nevertheless, the MN-I group clearly shows the greatest overall percentage of damaged cells at all times tested. In relation to repair capacity, at 5 min it was approximately 30% in both groups of well-nourished children, but only 20% in MN-I; 15 min after exposure, repair capacity increased to 51% in well-nourished children but only to 31% in MN-I; and at 60 min this capacity increased to 82% in well-nourished but only to 55% in MN-I. These data indicate that lymphocytes of malnourished children show a decreased capacity to repair hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA damage compared to that of well-nourished controls. This reflects that only malnutrition is associated with decreased DNA repair capacity. Additionally, the data confirm that severe infection and malnutrition are two factors clearly associated with increased DNA damage.

The purpose of this study was to determine if peripheral blood lymphocytes from malnourished children with gastrointestinal or respiratory bacterial infection show increased frequencies of Mitomycin C (MMC)‐induced micronuclei as compared to well‐nourished, infected children. The results indicate that cells from malnourished, infected children had greater chromosome damage. This may indicate that such children would be more susceptible to environmental damage and malignant transformation. Micronucleus frequencies were analyzed in binucleate cells produced by the cytokinesis block method; the overall micronucleus frequency was significantly higher in binucleate cells from malnourished, infected children. The mean micronucleus frequency in MMC‐free cultures was 4.3% in malnourished infected children and 1.0% in well‐nourished infected children. In MMC‐exposed cultures the mean induced micronucleus frequency was 32.6 ± 6.1 vs. 12.9 ± 2.3; 68.6 ± 12.1 vs. 21.0 ± 5.1, and 88.1 ± 16.2 vs. 41.7 ± 5.0 for malnourished and well‐nourished children at 20, 40, and 60 ng/ml MMC, respectively. The number of binucleated cells with more than one micronucleus was also higher in malnourished, infected children at all doses tested, including cells with two micronuclei in MMC‐free cultures from malnourished, infected children. This increase was not found in peripheral blood lymphocytes from well‐nourished infected children. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 30:363–370, 1997 © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a method to estimate nationally representative pretreatment HIV drug resistance (PDR) in order to evaluate the effectiveness of first -line treatments. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of PDR in Cuban adults infected with HIV-1. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study in Cuban adults infected with HIV-1 over 18 years was conducted. The probability proportional to size method for the selection of municipalities and patients without a prior history of antiretroviral treatment during the period from January 2017 to June 2017 was used. The plasma from 141 patients from 15 municipalities for the determination of viral subtype and HIV drug resistance was collected. Some clinical and epidemiological variables were evaluated. Results 80. 9% of the patients corresponded to the male sex and 76.3% were men who have sex with other men (MSM). The median CD4 count was 371 cells / mm 3 and the median viral load was 68000 copies / mL. The predominant genetic variants were subtype B (26.9%), CRF19_cpx (24.1%), CRF 20, 23, 24_BG (23.4%) and CRF18_cpx (12%). Overall, the prevalence of PDR was 29.8% (95%, CI 22.3–38.1). The prevalence was 12.8% (95%, CI 6.07–16.9) for any nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), 23.4% (95%, CI 16.7–31.3) for any non-reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) and 1.4% (95%, CI 0.17–5.03) for any protease inhibitor (PI). The most frequent mutations detected were K103N (12.9%), G190A (6.4%) and Y181C (4.8%). Conclusions The NNRTI prevalence above 10% in our study indicates that the first-line antiretroviral therapy in Cuba may be less effective and supports the need to look for new treatment options that contribute to therapeutic success and help the country achieve the global goals 90-90-90 set forth by UNAIDS.

Among 34 men with proctitis in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 16 (47%) had Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 11 (68.8%) of which were biovar lymphogranuloma venereum. The outbreak was probably local, as in Europe. In Argentina, lymphogranuloma venereum should be a suspected cause of proctitis in HIV-infected men who have had unprotected anal sex with men.

Infectious disease and malnutrition in children are public health problems in developing countries. Malnutrition is associated with higher levels of DNA damage, and this increased damage could be due to different factors, including the possibility that cells from malnourished children could be more susceptible to environmental damage. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the susceptibility of lymphocytes from malnourished children to DNA damage induced by antibiotics by using the comet assay. The same group of malnourished infected children were studied before and after a treatment period, and compared to a group of well-nourished infected children. Results showed that before and after drug treatment, tail length migration was two times greater in malnourished than in well-nourished children. The proportion of cells with high damage was also increased in malnourished children. Additionally in well-nourished and malnourished children, a cell subpopulation (non-damaged cells) more resistant to DNA damage induced by antibiotics was observed; this was more prevalent in the well-nourished children. Meanwhile, in malnourished children, a cell population seems to be more susceptible and reaches higher levels of DNA damage. This might help explain the impaired immune response observed in malnourished children. The increased DNA migration and the increased proportion of cells with higher levels of damage seem to indicate that malnourished children are more susceptible to DNA damage induced by drugs.