Hereditary Susceptibility to Dietary Induction of Gout in Selected Lines of Chickens

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Abstract
An incidence of 38% of articular gout was produced by feeding a diet containing 80% protein to chicks from a selected line (no. 307) of genetically dystrophic chickens. In three generations of descendants of the gout-susceptible birds, 171 out of 172 individuals tested developed gout on the high protein diet. Of the original Line 307 birds which did not develop gout on this diet, tests of descendants for three generations produced an incidence of 71 out of 249 individuals which developed gout on the high protein diet indicating that gout susceptibility was carried as a recessive genetic trait. A second selected line of dystrophic chicks (no. 308) showed a much higher incidence of gout susceptibility. Normal (nondystrophic) chickens did not develop gout on the high protein diet. Birds which were susceptible to induction of articular gout on the test diet had significantly higher plasma uric acid levels both on high or low protein diets than those which were not susceptible. Xanthine dehydrogenase activity of liver was also significantly higher in gout-susceptible dystrophic birds on the high protein diet than in nonsusceptible dystrophic birds. No significant differences in cathepsin D activity of pectoralis muscle were found between gout-susceptible and nonsusceptible birds.