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On the Physiological Basis of Vitamin A-Stimulated Growth¹

Department of Biochemistry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

The influence of vitamin A depletion on tissue composition was studied in rats that were marginally vitamin A deficient, i.e. at their weight plateau stage. The total number of cells (DNA) was decreased in most organs as a result of vitamin A depletion. In thymus, spleen and the sublingual glands there was also a dramatic reduction in the number of cells per gram of tissue and in thymus and sublingual glands there was an increase in the protein to DNA ratio as a result of absence of dietary vitamin A. We present the hypothesis that vitamin A stimulates growth by a direct role in cell replication in addition to or instead of stimulating the differentiation of epithelial and bone cells.

KEY WORDS: • vitamin A • growth • DNA replication

¹ Supported by a program-project grant from the National Institutes of Health No. AM-14881.

² Author to whom reprint requests should be addressed.

Manuscript received 12 February 1979.