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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #181291
Title: MARGINAL DIETARY COPPER RESTRICTION INDUCES CARDIOMYOPATHY IN RATS

Author
item LI, YAN - UNIV OF LOUISVILLE, KY
item WANG, LIPENG - UNIV OF LOUISVILLE, KY
item SCHUSCHKE, DALE - UNIV OF LOUISVILLE, KY
item ZHOU, ZHANXIANG - UNIV OF LOUISVILLE, KY
item Saari, Jack
item KANG, Y - UNIV OF LOUISVILLE, KY

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2005
Publication Date: 9/1/2005
Citation: Li, Y., Wang, L., Schuschke, D.A., Zhou, Z., Saari, J.T. 2005. Marginal dietary copper restriction induces cardiomyopathy in rats. Journal of Nutrition. 135:2130-2136.

Interpretive Summary: Dietary surveys have indicated that many humans consume less than the recommended amount of copper (Cu). In assessing whether reduced Cu intake could affect heart function, animal models have been used. However, most studies have examined effects of severely Cu-deficient diets in young animals and thus haven't simulated the marginal deficiencies that adult humans consume. In this study we fed adult rats marginally Cu-deficient diets for periods of up to 18 months. Hearts of rats fed marginal amounts of Cu were found to exhibit functional (e.g., electrial rhythm) defects as early as six months of feeding and microscopically observable structural defects after 15 months. These findings indicate that adult rats fed dietary levels of Cu consistent with those consumed by humans suffer cardiac pathology and that studies to examine such a possibility in humans should be designed.

Technical Abstract: Prior studies have provided evidence of marginal dietary copper (Cu) restriction in humans. The present study was undertaken to examine in a rat model the effect of a long-term marginal dietary Cu deficiency on the heart. Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-76 diet containing 6, 3, or 1.5 mg Cu/kg starting at 11 weeks of age. Groups of rats were sacrificed at 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 months after initiation of feeding and the same experiment was repeated once. The only significant (p<0.05) systemic change was depressed organ Cu concentrations in the rats fed 1.5 mg Cu/kg diet. Cardiac pathological manifestations in rats fed lower Cu diets were evidenced by histopathological, ultrastructural and functional alterations. Myocyte hypertrophy and excessive collagen deposition occurred in hearts of rats fed 1.5 mg Cu/kg diet. Ultrastructural changes, including increased number and volume of mitochondria along with disruption of cristae structure, diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and electrocardiograph alterations were observed in rats fed 1.5 mg or 3.0 mg Cu/kg diets. These results demonstrate that, in the absence of most indications of systemic Cu deficiency, heart morphology and function are sensitive to marginal Cu deficiency.