Peripheral blood monocyte function in malnourished subjects with pulmonary tuberculosis.

The effect of associated malnutrition on the functional status of peripheral blood monocytes activated in vitro was tested in patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, contacts and healthy controls. The capacity of the in vitro activated monocytes (MO) to generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide (O-2) and interleukin-1 (IL1) was tested. The results indicated that the patients and contacts were significantly malnourished compared to the controls. The MO functions, however, were comparable among the three groups indicating lack of in vivo activation of the MO in patients harbouring tubercular infection/disease. With the evidence available from the literature on the effects of malnutrition on cellular immune functions, it was speculated that the observed MO dysfunction could be due to lack of appropriate lymphokine elaboration due to associated malnutrition. The observed immunological defect might increase the risk of overt infection among the malnourished contacts.