Copper uptake and retention in liver parenchymal cells isolated from nutritionally copper-deficient rats
article
Copper uptake and retention were studied in primary cultures of liver parenchymal cells isolated from copper-deficient rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a copper-deficient diet (< 1 mg Cu/kg) for 10 wk. Copper-deficient rats were characterized by low copper concentrations in plasma and liver, anemia, low plasma ceruloplasmin oxidase activity and increased 64Cu whole-body retention. Freshly isolated liver parenchymal cells from copper-deficient rats showed a higher 64Cu influx, which was associated with a higher apparent Vmax of 45 ± 4 pmol CU0mg protein-1.min-1 as compared with 30 ± 3 pmol CU·mg protein-1·min-1 for cells isolated from copper-sufficient rats. No significant difference in the apparent Km (~30 μmol/L) was observed. Relative 64Cu efflux from cells from copper-deficient rats was significantly smaller than the efflux from cells from copper-sufficient rats after prelabeling as determined by 2-h efflux experiments. Analysis of the medium after efflux from cells from copper-deficient rats showed elevated protein-associated 64Cu, suggesting a higher incorporation of radioactive copper during metalloprotein synthesis. Effects of copper deficiency persist in primary cultures of parenchymal cells derived from copper-deficient rats, and short-term cultures of these cells offer a prospect for the study of cell biological aspects of the metabolic adaptation of the liver to copper deficiency.
TNO Identifier
268238
Source
Journal of nutrition, 121, pp. 1228-1235.
Pages
1228-1235
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