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of Pantothenic Acid Deficiency and Inanition on Resistance to Cold Stress in the Rat¹

The Emory W. Thurston Laboratories, Los Angeles, California

Studies were conducted on the effects of pantothenic acid deficiency on the survival time of rats under cold room (2°C.) and room temperature (23°C.) conditions. Of 19 pantothenic acid-depleted rats exposed to a low environmental temperature, 100% died within the first 72 hours of cold exposure (average survival time, 11.8 hours). Under room temperature conditions, 9 out of 12 rats depleted of pantothenic acid were still alive after 28 days of feeding. No deaths occurred after 28 days of cold exposure among rats fed a diet similar to the above but supplemented with calcium pantothenate. Although caloric restriction per se of a qualitatively adequate diet (particularly for a prolonged period preceding cold exposure) markedly reduced the survival time of rats under conditions of low environmental temperature, findings indicate that restricted caloric intake was not the prime cause of the failure of pantothenic acid-deficient rats to survive under cold room conditions.

Studies were conducted of the effects of pituitary, thyroid and adrenocortical hormones on the resistance of pantothenic acid-depeleted rats to cold stress. Neither anterior pituitary extract, growth hormone, ACTH, thyroxin or cortisone acetate alone, nor combinations of thyroxin and cortisone acetate, growth hormone and ACTH or growth hormone and cortisone acetate, were effective in prolonging the length of survival of pantothenic acid-depleted rats under cold room conditions.

Manuscript received 14 July 1952.