Trace element binding in the copper deficient mottled mutants in the mouse

Abstract

In contrast to the situation for copper, the levels of cadmium, nickel and zinc in various tissues from mice hemizygous for the neonatallethal mottled allele Mo br are entirely normal. A developmental study of copper levels in the semi-viable Mo vbr has revealed that the accumulation of copper in the kidney and the deficiency in the brain are maintained at about the same level throughout the first 4 weeks of life. In contrast, the accumulation in the gut mucosa disappears in older animals, and the deficiency in the liver is much reduced by 21–30 days. A reduced gut accumulation and liver deficiency is also seen in adult Mo br /+ heterozygotes. The deficiency in the liver and the accumulation in the kidney of Mo br male mice is associated with a protein fraction of about 14000 daltons. This fraction isolated from liver tissue has been further divided by ion-exchange chromatography into 4 sub-fractions, with each sub-fraction from mutant tissue showing an approximately proportionate reduction in copper content.