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Hypoalbuminemia in Energy-Malnourished Rats Infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nematoda)

M.R.C. Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, United Kingdom ^* Department of Parasitology, Molteno Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EE, United Kingdom

Rats fed a restricted amount (60% of ad libitum intake) of a well-balanced diet (protein energy:total energy ratio of 0.20) had a reduced growth rate but maintained near-normal plasma albumin concentrations. However, when such animals were infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (a hookwormlike intestinal parasite), plasma albumin values fell precipitously, from a preinfection value of 34.7 g/L to 21.3 g/L on d 10 postinfection (p.i.). The hypoalbuminemia developed rapidly, without changes in body weight and despite an adequate amount of dietary protein. Similarity infected well-nourished animals showed a much less severe effect, plasma albumin values falling from 34.8 to only 31.3 g/L by d 10 p.i. Two measurements of gastrointestinal integrity, [⁵¹Cr]albumin leakage from the plasma and intestinal permeability to mono- and disaccharide sugars, suggested that the alterations in plasma albumin values could be explained on the basis of protein leakage into the gastrointestinal tract through parasite-induced lesions. Much greater changes in the indices of mucosal integrity were observed in the undernourished animals and overall it was clear that the energy-restricted animals had been far more severely affected by the parasite than their well-fed counterparts. The results are discussed with reference to the etiology of kwashiorkor in humans.

KEY WORDS: • protein-energy malnutrition • kwashiorkor • nematode infection • albumin • protein-losing enteropathy • gastrointestinal permeability

Manuscript received 13 February 1987. Revision accepted 22 September 1987.