[Effect of dietary protein deficiency in female rats on the function of the immunocompetent system of their progeny]

Abstract

The influence of alimentary protein deficiency, during early ontogenesis, on the morphofunctional characteristics of the immunocompetent system was studied in 115 experimental and 60 control female rats, 4 and 12 months after the commencement of the experiment. It was shown that protein deficiency in the period of prenatal ontogenesis induced significant changes in the humoral and cellular values, characterizing immunologic responsiveness and nonspecific resistance of the body, and leads to alteration of the morphological structure of the lymphoid organs. Such changes were also observed in the rats of the second generation, which received full-value food, thus evidencing grave and stable immunologic disorders as the result of protein deficiency during prenatal ontogenesis.