Author
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Johnson, William |
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THOMAS, ANNE - 5450-20-00 |
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Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 4/14/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Protein kinase C (PKC) is thought to regulate neuronal development and synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. Because copper (Cu) may have a role in signal transduction processes regulated by PKC, as suggested from previous studies with platelets, and also is important for brain development, the effect of dietary Cu on postnatal expression of PKC in brain was examined. Three groups of dams were fed diets containing 1, 2, or 6 ug Cu/g for a period starting 3 wks before they were bred and ending when their pups were 21 days old. PKC isoforms were assessed from immunoblots of high-speed supernatant fractions from whole brains of 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 21 day-old pups. Brain Cu increased from day 1 to day 21 in pups from dams fed diets containing 2 and 6 ug Cu/g, but accrued at a significantly slower rate (p=0.006, linear mixed model ANOVA) in pups from dams fed diet containing 1 ug Cu/g. Although amounts of PKC alpha, beta, and gamma increased from day 1 to day 21 in all brains, the rate of accrua for PKC beta was significantly lower (p=0.01) and the rate for PKC alpha marginally lower (p=0.06) in brains of pups from dams fed diet containing 1 ug Cu/g. Dietary Cu did not affect the temporal expression of PKC gamma. These findings indicate that dietary Cu may influence postnatal brain development through a differential effect on the expression of PKC isoforms. |
