Adenosine monophosphate

Nucleotides such as Adenosine-5'-Monophosphate affect a number of immune functions, including the reversal of malnutrition and starvation-induced immunosuppression, the enhancement of T-cell maturation and function, the enhancement of natural killer cell activity, the improvement of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, helping resistance to such infectious agents as Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, and finally the modulation of T-cell responses toward type 1 CD4 helper lymphocytes or Th1 cells. Studies have shown that mice fed a nucleotide-free diet have both impaired humoral and cellular immune responses. The addition of dietary nucleotides normalizes both types of responses. RNA, a delivery form of nucleotides, and ribonucleotides were used in these studies. The mechanism of the immune-enhancing activity of nucleic acids/nucleotides is not clear.