ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTATION IN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AND OXIDATION-INDUCED BY MURINE AIDS IN OLD MICE

Old female C57BL/6 mice were infected with LP-BM5 retrovirus which cau sed murine AIDS with supplementation. Multiple antioxidants significan tly normalized Th1 (IL-2) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-6) cells' cytokine product ion hi vitro with restoration of T- and B-cell mitogenesis. It also re stored hepatic vitamin E level, which had been reduced by retrovirus i nfection. To assert whether the amount of retrovirus inoculum would ac celerate development of immune dysfunction, some mice were injected wi th three times the usual infectious dose. There was no significant dif ference in immune parameters nor was premature death accelerated. Supp lementation for 1.5 months begun as murine AIDS was developing, did no t significantly prevent dysfunction in cytokine secretion, loss of hep atic vitamin E, nor reduction in T- and B-cell mitogenesis in mice giv en either infectious (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.