Influence of vitamin E supplementation on nutritional status and immune response in ethanol-fed mice and murine AIDS.

Abstract

LP-BM5 murine leukemia retrovirus infection in C57BL/6 mice rapidly produces murine AIDS with many functional similarities to human AIDS, including progressive lymphoproliferation and increasing severe immunodeficiency. The present studies indicated that retrovirus infection induces immune dysfunctions via modulating the cytokine production, and affects the thymus, producing altered T cell differentiation via the dysregulation of thymocyte cytokine secretion. In addition, retrovirus infection can directly cause malnutrition, possible via damaging gastrointestinal cells, thereby leading to malabsorption. Such malnutrition has the theoretical potential to accelerate development of AIDS via immunosuppression secondary to nutritional deficiency. Chronic ethanol consumption in the mice altered the cytokine release, and impaired immune response, and disrupted T cell maturation, which increase host susceptibility to infection. Chronic ethanol consumption may be one of the co-factors accelerating development of human AIDS after retrovirus infection. The results from this study suggest that dietary ethanol, upon retrovirus infection or prior to retrovirus infection, aggravates progression of immune dysfunction and affects T cell maturation in the thymus, leading to AIDS as dietary ETOH modifies production of immunological regulatory cytokines by splenocytes and thymocytes. Furthermore, ethanol can directly aggravate undernutrition initiated by retrovirus infection. Such ethanol-induced malnutrition in AIDS may also be a cofactor, accelerating development of AIDS via immunosuppression secondary to nutritional deficiencies. Vitamin E supplementation enhances immune responses. The immunostimulatory nature of vitamin E does provide a basis for its use in the modulation of the various cell components and immune functions, and its consequent therapeutic use during AIDS and alcoholics. The findings in the study clearly demonstrated that dietary vitamin E supplementation can modulate dysregulation of cytokines initiated by dietary EtOH and restore immune dysfunctions induced by EtOH ingestion. The potential therapeutics of vitamin E supplementation for AIDS treatment has also been determined in this study. Vitamin E supplementation, even at extremely high levels, can help to restore levels of tissue nutrients, cytokine dysregulation and some immune dysfunctions initiated by retrovirus infection during murine AIDS. Thus, the vitamin E supplementation may provide additional therapeutic approaches for treatment of HIV infected patients or alcoholics without additional immunotoxicity.