Journal of Nutrition Animal Diets/Enrichment Products...

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Journal of Nutrition Vol. 85 No. 2 February 1965, pp. 169-173
Copyright © 1965 by American Society for Nutrition
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Umaña, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Umaña, R.

Effect of Protein Malnutrition on the DNA Content of Rat Liver1,2,3,

Roberto Umaña

Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala, Central America

The constancy of the DNA concentration in normal tissues has suggested the possibility of using this cellular component as a fixed point of reference to express the results of tissue analysis. In the field of nutrition, the constancy of this concentration in the liver has been questioned in those cases in which the rats have been fed protein-deficient diets. Some investigators who have studied the average DNA content of the isolated liver cell nucleus under conditions of protein deficiency, have not been able to show any significant increase. On the other hand, histochemical studies as well as DNA analysis of whole liver homogenates of the same type of animals have demonstrated a significant increase in the average DNA content of the nucleus and in the DNA concentration of the liver, respectively. In the present study, weanling and young adult rats were fed protein-deficient diets and the average DNA content of the isolated liver cell nuclei, as well as the DNA concentration of the whole liver homogenate, were studied. The results obtained strongly support previous observations that protein-deficient diets produce in the rat a significant increase in the average DNA content of the liver cell nucleus and in the DNA content of the liver.

1 This investigation was supported by Public Health Service Research Grants no. AM-00981 and AM-4731 from the National Institutes of Health.

2 The author gratefully acknowledges the technical assistance of Daniel Fernández.

3 INCAP Publication I-336.

Manuscript received 20 July 1964.




Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]