Impaired intestinal localization of mesenteric lymphoblasts associated with vitamin A deficiency and protein-calorie malnutrition.

We examined whether protein-calorie (PC) and vitamin A (VA) deficiencies altered the intestinal localization of mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphoblasts using an adoptive lymphocyte transfer method. MLN cells from donor rats were labelled in vitro with [125I]-deoxyuridine and injected i.v. into various recipients. Twenty-two to twenty-four hours after transfer of labelled cells prepared from PC-deficient donors, the percentage of radioactivity in the small intestine of normal recipients was two-thirds of that detected after transfer of cell obtained from normal donors. When donor cells were obtained from rats suffering both PC and VA malnourishment, this decrease was even greater, being only one-third of the normal donor cell control. Other experiments indicated that the defect in localization behaviour was associated with the donor blasts and not the recipient intestine. These findings suggest that defective localization in mucosal lymphoblasts may be a factor contributing to morbidity in malnourished populations.