Influence of dietary restriction on immunologic function and renal disease in (NZB × NZW) F 1 mice

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Abstract
In (NZB .times. NZW)F1 (B/W) mice, moderate caloric intake [10 kcal (41.8 kJ)/day] from the time of weaning was associated with maintenance of lower body weight, greater capacity of spleen cells to be stimulated with T[thymus-derived]-cell mitogens, and better preserved capacity to generate cytotoxic cells in response to in vitro and in vivo stimulation with allogeneic tumor cells. Plaque-forming cell response to sheep erythrocytes was also well maintained in animals on the restricted diets when sensitization was accomplished in vitro or in vivo. Spontaneous suppressor cell activity against plaque-forming cells that developed in controls did not appear in the mice on the restricted diet. Significantly less circulating antibody to native DNA was present in the blood of mice 10 mo. of age when their dietary intake was restricted. Histological analysis revealed that the development of renal disease and the deposition of .gamma. globulin in the glomerular capillaries was markedly inhibited in the mice on restricted diets. Dietary restriction from the time of weaning thus appears to prolong significantly the life of autoimmune-prone (NZB .times. NZW)F1 male and female mice and to alter lymphoid cell immune function, thereby decreasing the autoimmune processes and immunological assault associated with progressive renal disease in these animals.