title: Red cell cholesterol enrichment and spur cell anemia in dogs fed a cholesterol-enriched atherogenic diet.
abstract: A diet supplemented with cholesterol and coconut oil is atherogenic in dogs. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of this diet on red cells in pure-bred beagles and greyhounds. Within 3 days after the initiation of this diet red cell cholesterol/phospholipid increased and membrane fluidity decreased, with maximum changes attained by 12 weeks. Serum lipoprotein cholesterol/phospholipid also increased, and serum from cholesterol-fed dogs transferred cholesterol to normal red cells. Significant abnormalities of liver function developed in all cholesterol-fed dogs. Hematocrit declined beginning at 6 weeks, with a parallel increase in osmotic fragility. Reticulocytes were elevated in beagles but normal in greyhounds. Red cell morphology resembled acanthocytes or spur cells. All red cell parameters returned to normal within 4 weeks after stopping the diet. These studies demonstrate that a cholestrol-enriched, atherogenic diet causes profound and reversible changes in the lipid composition, membrane fluidity, and morphology of red cells in dogs.
mesh_terms: D000743:Anemia, Hemolytic / Q000097:blood* / Q000139:chemically induced; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004036:Diet, Atherogenic; D004161:Diphenylhexatriene / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000378:metabolism*; D005453:Fluorescence; D006400:Hematocrit; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000503:physiopathology; D008560:Membrane Fluidity / Q000187:drug effects; D009996:Osmotic Fragility / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D008055:Lipids; D004161:Diphenylhexatriene; D002784:Cholesterol