Aging (Milan, Italy)
-
Aging (Milan, Italy) · Feb 1995
Effect of copper deficiency on the activity levels of ceruloplasmin and superoxide dismutase in tissues of young and old rats.
Six- and 24-month-old rats were fed a copper deficient diet for 10 weeks; the copper content of the diet was one fourteenth that of a control diet. After the 10-week feeding period, the copper contents of the cerebrums, livers, lungs, and serum were decreased by 20-17, 49-47, 48-37, and 84-83%, respectively, while those of hearts and muscles were unchanged or only slightly decreased. ⋯ Although copper deficiency affected catalase activity, vitamin E concentration, and reduced glutathione concentration in several tissues, no consistent trends were observed. On the basis of the survival time of rats exposed to more than 96% oxygen, it is suggested that a decrease in CuZn-SOD activity due to copper deficiency increases oxygen susceptibility.