Consequences of defective vitamin A transportation on mitochondrial membrane integrity during protein depletion.
The relationships between the structural integrity and functionality of rat liver mitochondrial membranes, and different levels of dietary protein and vitamin A transportation during protein depletion in animals have been investigated. Although the vitamin A content of the protein-depleted diet was 1680 +/- 35 IU/kg diet, and that of the control diet was 1,650 +/- 30 IU/kg diet, the vitamin A content of the liver of depleted rats was reduced to 16.7% of controls. The hepatic mitochondria of rats fed a protein-depleted diet showed excessive passive swelling (about 3-fold of controls) in isotonic solutions. Whereas a seemingly inverse relationship existed between the vitamin A content of the liver and the osmotic behaviour of hepatic mitochondria of rats fed a protein-depleted diet, there is a direct relationship between their hepatic mitochondrial vitamin A and the respiratory control ratio. The implications of these observations are discussed.
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D005260:Female; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008933:Mitochondrial Swelling; D009995:Osmosis; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000378:metabolism*
D014801:Vitamin A