Consequences of defective vitamin A transportation on mitochondrial membrane integrity during protein depletion.

Abstract

The relationships between the structural integrity and functionality of rat liver mitochondrial membranes, and different levels of dietary protein and vitamin A transportation during protein depletion in animals have been investigated. Although the vitamin A content of the protein-depleted diet was 1680 +/- 35 IU/kg diet, and that of the control diet was 1,650 +/- 30 IU/kg diet, the vitamin A content of the liver of depleted rats was reduced to 16.7% of controls. The hepatic mitochondria of rats fed a protein-depleted diet showed excessive passive swelling (about 3-fold of controls) in isotonic solutions. Whereas a seemingly inverse relationship existed between the vitamin A content of the liver and the osmotic behaviour of hepatic mitochondria of rats fed a protein-depleted diet, there is a direct relationship between their hepatic mitochondrial vitamin A and the respiratory control ratio. The implications of these observations are discussed.