Selective phosphorus deficiency in the hyperalimented hypophosphatemic dog and phosphorylation potentials in the muscle cell.

Abstract

Administration of nutrients after underfeeding is associated with a decline of serum inorganic phosphorus concentration (1). When nutrients are administered in excess and especially with inadequate quantities of phosphorus, hypophosphatemia is apt to become pronounced and is invariably associated with excretion of only trace quantities of phosphorus in the urine. The decline of serum phosphorus concentration and its simultaneous disappearance from the urine suggests that phosphorus is being taken up by cells. The site of phosphorus uptake with regard to specific tissues has not been determined. We have examined the effects of hypophosphatemia induced by hyperalimentation of the underfed dog. The results show that phosphorus deficiency appears rapidly in skeletal muscle during hyperalimentation. Significant deficiencies of total phosphorus content were also observed in bone, parathyroid glands and the liver. Phosphorus content did not change significantly in other tissues.