ABSTRACT
The immune system is so sensitive to B6 deficiency that Axelrod16 suggested that antibody formation might be a better indicator of nutritional status than growth. Deoxypyridoxine appears to be especially antagonistic to this aspect of B6 action. Studies of this area can be divided into three broad categories: gross examination of lymphoid tissues; specific tests of antibody response; and tissue transplantation. Electrophoresis detected no changes in the protein fractions; neither was there any detectable difference in the rats of disappearance of antigen or antibody from serum. Gandullia and Cordone studied antibody formation in growing rats receiving 0.5 mg deoxypyridoxine per day intramuscularly for 50 days starting at 7 days of age. Fisher et al. examined the effect of deoxypyridoxine on skin homograft survival in a study involving a total of 1529 rats. Histological examination of thymi from thiamin-deficient rats showed well-preserved lymphocytes and distinct corticomedullary differentiation.
