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 caused murine AIDS with supplementation. Multiple antioxidants significantly normalized Th1 (IL-2) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-6) cells' cytokine production in vitro with restoration of T- and B-cell mitogenesis. It also restored hepatic vitamin E level, which had been reduced by retrovirus infection. To assert whether the amount of retrovirus inoculum would accelerate development of immune dysfunction, some mice were injected with three times the usual infectious dose. There was no significant difference in immune parameters nor was premature death accelerated. Supplementation for 1.5 months begun as murine AIDS was developing, did not significantly prevent dysfunction in cytokine secretion, loss of hepatic vitamin E, nor reduction in T- and B- cell mitogenesis in mice given either infectious dose level.