[Effect of alimentary protein deficiency in the early postnatal period on the function of the immunocompetent system in rats].

The influence of protein deficiency in the early postnatal period on the functional and morphological characteristics of the immunocompetent system was studied in 76 test and 60 control rats, 4 and 12 months after the experiment commencement. It was shown that protein deficiency in the early postnatal period induced shifts in the cellular parameters of the immunologic responsiveness, mainly, producing no significant changes in the nonspecific factors of body defence. The impairing effect of protein deficiency was more manifest at the early steps of the body development.