Abstract
Weanling, 19-day-old, male Sprague-Dawley rats were offered a basal diet low in copper (Cu), 0.40 mg/kg (6.3 nmol/g), and drinking water containing 0, 0.5, 1, or 10 (Cu-adequate) mg Cu/L. After 30 days, plasma and heart cuproenzymes were assayed. Body weight and hemoglobin were equivalent among groups. Rats drinking I mg Cu/L did not have elevated heart/body weight, lower liver Cu, or higher liver Fe compared with Cu-adequate rats. However, activity of two blood enzymes (plasma ceruloplasmin and serum peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM)) and three heart enzymes (cytochrome c oxidase, Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase, and PAM) were lower compared with rats supplemented with 10 mg Cu/L. Groups drinking 0.5 mg Cu/L or deionized water had even lower activities including that of heart dopamine-β-monooxygenase. Serum and heart PAM activities patterned one another, suggesting that serum PAM may be a suitable marker of tissue Cu status. Addition of CuSO 4 to the PAM assay increased the apparent activity in a manner inversely related to dietary Cu intake in both heart and serum samples. The Cu stimulation index (activity with added Cu/activity with basal Cu) may also be a useful tool to assess Cu status.
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