Immunophoretic evaluation of blood serum proteins in chickens. II. Patterns in vitamin E deficiency encephalomalacia.

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions1. Twenty-five newly hatched or very young chickens were subjected to a purified diet, deficient in vit E or any synthetic antioxidant and supplemented with 4.8% linoleic acid. If permitted to survive, these chicks developed encephalo-malacia between the 10th and 26th day. Forty-two chicks, fed on a conventional stock laboratory diet, developed normally and were well at the time blood samples were examined. 2. Immunophoresis patterns of blood sera from experimental and normal chickens were obtained. 3. In the experimental sera, an antigen-antibody precipitation curve with the mobility of beta lipoprotein persisted whereas this curve did not persist after the 10th day in normal chickens. This curve was interpreted as due to the presence of an abnormal protein, possibly a denatured beta lipoprotein. 4. The role of possible denaturation of beta lipoproteins in the blood serum in the presence of autoxidation products of linoleic acid in the serum as a possible mechanism for production o...