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Studies on the Kidney in Vitamin E Deficiency¹

II. Renal Tocopherol Content in Relation to Vitamin E Deficiency Changes in the Kidney

Department of Anatomy, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

1. Kidneys from 55 rats supplied with a vitamin E-deficient diet at 21 days of age were analyzed for tocopherol at intervals up to 25 weeks.

2. The tocopherol level fell rapidly during the initial 3 to 4 weeks and reached a minimal value at about 6 weeks. This latter time coincided with that at which the renal autolytic rate began to rise above normal.

3. Minimal levels of tocopherol persisted in the kidneys of animals supplied with the vitamin E-deficient diet for as long as 6 months.

4. Lipoperoxides in adipose tissue varied greatly in amount in animals undergoing tocopherol depletion with the diet used in these experiments. Appreciable amounts were present at three weeks, and maximal levels were reached at 7 to 9 weeks. Peroxides were usually at low levels or absent in animals maintained with the vitamin E-deficient diet for a year or more.

5. The development of an increased rate of postmortem autolysis in the kidney was always preceded by a reduction in renal tocopherol level and the appearance of peroxidation in the adipose tissue.

6. These observations are consistent with the view that an abnormal state of intracellular lipids may contribute to the increased rate of postmortem autolysis which occurs in the kidneys of these animals.

² Some of the data in this report form part of a thesis (P.L.L.) submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, M.D. with Honor.

Manuscript received 19 June 1961.