Effects of hypoxia on contents of essential elements in pika and rat heart.
The effects of hypoxia on the levels of essential macroelements and trace elements (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn) in the heart muscles of Wistar rats and plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) were studied by atomic absorption spectrometry. Unlike the rat, the plateau pika is tolerant to hypoxia. The levels of K, Na, and the trace element Mn were not significantly changed in rat or pika hearts after exposure to hypoxia for 1, 10, or 25 d at simulated altitudes of 5000 and 7000 m. Other minerals (Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, and Fe) were significantly affected by hypoxia and the levels followed different time-courses under different hypoxic regimes in these two animals. There were marked differences between the rat and pika in myocardial accumulation of essential elements such as Ca, which was increased to high levels in the rat but not affected in the pika. The results suggest that hypoxia affects animal physiological mechanisms by regulating the levels of essential elements.
Suo
Yourui
Y
Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China.
Wang
Hanqing
H
Zhang
Baochen
B
D000818:Animals; D000860:Hypoxia; D007793:Lagomorpha; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
D008903:Minerals; D014131:Trace Elements