ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews what is known about nucleotides, immunity, and infection, and draws from studies in both experimental animal models and in human infants. Dietary nucleotides have a limited capacity for absorption in the intestinal tract, possibly as a result of the lack of a nucleotide transport system and the presence of negatively charged phosphate groups, which hinder absorption. The most common nucleotides can be divided into two groups, purines and pyrimidines, based on the structure of the nitrogenous base. The chapter shows the catabolic pathways for purine nucleotides and pyrimidine nucleotides in humans. A number of reports have related dietary nucleotides and macrophage activity. In mice inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus, the phagocytosis of microorganisms was lower in those who were fed on a nucleotide-free diet than in those fed on a diet supplemented with RNA or adenine. Dietary nucleotides enhanced the interaction of macrophages and T-cells, explaining the higher susceptibility of mice fed a nucleotide-free diet to Candida infection.
