ANTIBODY RESPONSE IN PATIENTS WITH HYPOPROTEINEMIA

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Abstract
IMMUNITY is dependent in part on antibody production. There is ample evidence that antibodies are globulins modified in response to the presence of an antigen.1Antibody globulins, like other plasma proteins and body proteins as well, are derived from dietary protein and thus depend for their formation on protein intake adequate in quality and quantity.2Furthermore, the fundamental studies of Cannon and his co-workers3and of others4have shown that antibody production is lessened when hypoproteinemia is produced in experimental animals. Wissler and others5demonstrated that protein repletion is associated with improved antibody response. The degree of protein depletion required to impair production of antibodies in animals was rather drastic in many of the experiments cited, and the relative importance of their observations as they relate to human antibody response has been challenged.6 Because of the clinical implications of these experimental studies, we have (1) investigated production of antibodies in