Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (
AIDS) is a clinical disorder caused by a
retrovirus infection and represents the end point in a progressive sequence of immunosuppressive changes.
Vitamins can enhance
disease resistance in animals and humans. As such they are important co-factors in optimal functioning of the immune systems. In this article, the immunological and nutritional modifications caused by
AIDS are summarized. The effects of murine and human
retrovirus infection on
vitamin status are analyzed as co-factors in the development of severe immune dysfunction,
AIDS. The properties of immunoenhancing antioxidative
vitamins,
vitamin A, B6, B12, C, E, and
beta-carotene, which are frequently low in
AIDS patients, are evaluated relative to the development of immunodeficiency during
retrovirus infection.
Vitamin A, E, and B12 deficiency accelerated the development of
AIDS with low T cells, whereas their normalization retarded the development of immune dysfunction. The interactions between these
vitamins and the immune system in human
AIDS patients and animal models of
AIDS are reviewed. Our purpose is to provide data on how
retrovirus infection can cause
nutritional deficiencies that accentuate immune damage and to evaluate the potential therapeutic role of
vitamins in the treatment of immune dysfunctions in
AIDS patients.