title: Lipid and fatty acid composition of organs from copper-deficient mice.
abstract: Experiments were conducted to study the total lipid and fatty acid composition of liver, kidney, brain and heart of 7-wk-old male C57BL mice. Dietary copper deficiency was initiated at birth by feeding dams a purified diet containing 0.5 mg/kg copper. Offspring were fed the copper-deficient diet 4 wk postweaning. Control dams and offspring were fed the same diet but with added copper in the drinking water, 20 mg/L. Compared with controls the copper-deficient mice exhibited hepatomegaly, cardiac hypertrophy and a 4% reduction in brain weight as well as low ceruloplasmin activity (0.5% of control). Total phospholipid concentration in liver and kidney and total triacylglycerol concentration in kidney was lower in copper-deficient mice compared to concentrations measured in liver and kidney of control mice. The major change in essential fatty acid composition in the copper-deficient mice which was consistent between organs and lipid classes was a significantly lower proportion and absolute amount of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid. Other changes in fatty acid composition were variable.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003300:Copper / Q000172:deficiency*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006984:Hypertrophy; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009929:Organ Size; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D010743:Phospholipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D003300:Copper