Effects of severe and marginal lipotrope deficiency on response of postnatal rats to infection.

Female rats were fed from weaning on 1 of 4 different diets varying in lipotrope content (I, deficient; II, marginal; III, moderate; and IV, complete). Offspring littered to these dams were divided into 2 groups at weaning, one of which was continued on the mothers' diet; the other was fed the complete diet (IV). Birth and weaning weights were low in dietary groups I and II, and when the rats were infected with Salmonella typhimurium at about 100 days after weaning, mortality was high in these 2 groups. A switch to diet IV at weaning corrected body weight in groups II and III but not in group I, and decreased mortality in group III but not in groups I and II. Although clinical evidence of deficit induced by maternal deficiency during prenatal and lactation periods was largely eliminated by post-weaning supplementation in group II, biochemical defects were not corrected, as was shown by mortality, serum proteins, and blood cell counts. Results of this study support the hypothesis that maternal nutritional deficiency in lipotropic factors can predispose offspring to infection much later in life even though they appear to be in good clinical condition. These findings are discussed in light of their possible relevance to nutritional problems of some population segments in developing countries.