title: Hypervitaminosis E and gametogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Expected benefits, i.e. increasing life span and vitality, from ingesting d,1-alpha tocopherol (vitamin E), are not realized using vitamin E acetate (VEA) since the acetate form is only slowly converted to vitamin E in either mammalian or nematode tissues. The resultant accumulation of VEA in the cytosol is toxic, which results in aberrations in nuclear morphology, decreased life span and production of progeny, increased mean reproductive day and general loss of vitality. Incorporation of VEA into membranes results in allosteric changes in membrane structure. Such changes are proportional to increasing concentrations of VEA, thereby inhibiting the attachment of the telomere to the nuclear envelope. Reproductive and chromosomal strategies are compromised such that synaptonemal complexes, normally found during pachytene in oocytes, are rarely present in those nematodes exposed to high concentrations of VEA. The resultant loss of SCs correlates with decreased progeny and the chromosomal aberrations characteristic of hypervitaminosis E.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, El Paso 79968.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCann-Hargrove
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Magnano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006224:Cricetinae; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005718:Gametogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D006066:Gonads / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013573:Synaptonemal Complex / Q000187:drug effects; D024505:Tocopherols; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D014810:Vitamin E; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol; D024505:Tocopherols