Amino acids and immune functions

Amino acids are not only the material basis for body growth,but also the material basis for the immune system.Amino acids and immune function are closely related.In recent years they have become important objectives in immunonutrition field.Amino acids play a very important role in the development of immune organs,proliferation and differentiation of immune cells.They also affect cytokine secretion and regulate the intensity of immune responses.Reasonable supplementary of amino acids have a positive effect in regulating the body's immune function.At present,there are a variety of amino acids which are widely used as clinical nutrition supplements.This paper mainly reviews the immunological characteristics of several amino acids and their derivatives that are involved in immunonutrition study in the recent years. Key words: Amino acid;  Immune function;  Immunonutrition