Hepatic copper uptake in fetal and neonatal toxic milk mutant mice

Conference · Mon Mar 11 04:00:00 EST 1991 · FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States)

OSTI ID:5371649

Rauch, H; Wells, A ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst (United States)

Mice homozygous for the recessive toxic milk allele (tx/tx) accumulate vast amounts of hepatic copper. Despite this, their offspring are born severely copper deficient. To follow patterns of copper uptake, the authors have measured hepatic copper levels and {sup 67}Cu uptake in fetuses and neonates from normal and mutant (TX) females. Increases in liver weight are equivalent in fetuses from both genotypes. As copper bound to the protein metallothionein accumulates, the ratio of concentration to oliver weight remains constant, but is higher in normal than in TX; comparable differences in {sup 67}Cu uptake are shown. In placentae, copper levels and {sup 67}Cu uptake are similarly markedly reduced in TX, indicating that hepatic copper deficiency is not due to blockage and placental accumulation. Although TX neonates are severely copper deficient at birth, they appear to be otherwise normal; this coupled with the fact that they can be rescued and thrive following a single dose of Cu as late as the sixth postnatal day, suggests that copper accumulation via binding to metallothionein may serve to prevent copper toxicity to the fetus rather than as a mechanism for storage of copper for later use. Neonates continue to show copper levels dictated by the genotype of their dams through the second week, but during the third postnatal week levels shift to reflect their own genotype.

• OSTI ID: 5371649
• Report Number(s): CONF-9104107--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (United States) Journal Volume: 5:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
COPPER
COPPER 67
COPPER ISOTOPES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ELEMENTS
FETAL MEMBRANES
FETUSES
GENOTYPE
GLANDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LIVER
MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
MEMBRANES
METABOLISM
METALS
MUTANTS
NEONATES
NUCLEI
NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
PLACENTA
RADIOISOTOPES
TOXICITY
TRACER TECHNIQUES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS