Depression and delayed recovery of alveolar macrophage function during starvation and refeeding.

Malnourished patients are particularly vulnerable to pulmonary infection. In this study using a rat model, starvation was found to depress significantly the phagocytic capability of pulmonary alveolar macrophages which play important roles in the local cellular defenses of the lung. Intracellular bactericidal function of the alveolar macrophages was not affected. On refeeding, in spite of the rats regaining their body weights and the recuperation of certain systemic immune indexes, there was a delay in the recovery of alveolar macrophage phagocytic function.