"Building a Better Understanding of the Mechanisms of Malnutrition in the Small Intestine: Universidade Federal do Ceará in Fortaleza, Brazil"
Malnutrition is one of the most significant and widespread problems in the developing world. The increased susceptibility to chronic childhood diarrhea due to a compromised immune system has even more serious long term effects. It has been found that a small percentage of the general population in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil, is able to avoid the deleterious effects of malnutrition due to the possession of a particular polymorphism of the apolipoprotein family, APOE4. Our summer objective was to analyze the effects of malnutrition on intestinal barrier protein expression in mice. In addition, we were to further strengthen the evidence supporting the claims on the apolipoprotein polymorphism by collecting samples from Parque Universital, a favela within the city. Unfortunately, due to logistical problems our work over the summer solely focused on our mouse study. We made progress in understanding the role of L-arginine, a key component of the body's immune response, and its role in protein expression in the gut. Through quantitative RT-PCR we uncovered changes in the expression of tight junction proteins in the small intestine as a result of the amino acid therapy, which furthers understanding of the infectious pathways in a malnourished setting. In addition, our work will tie in directly to the understanding of the biological mechanisms of APOE4 in its protective role in malnourished individuals.