Vitamin A Deficiency and Phospholipid Metabolism

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Abstract
One, two, and three hours after subcutaneous administration of approximately 0.08 mc 32P1 to both vitamin A-deficient and pair-fed control rats, livers were removed and subcellular phospholipids analyzed for radioactivity. The specific activity of the lipid-P was higher in all vitamin A-deficient subcellular lipid fractions than in controls. The specific activity of phosphatidyl ethanolamine was higher than lecithin in all fractions. Vitamin A deficiency did not alter the percentages of lecithin and phosphatidyl ethanolamine found in the various subcellular fractions. The subcutaneous administration of 1,000 IU vitamin A 72 hr before injection of 32P1 reduced the specific activity of all subcellular phospholipid fractions to control levels. Fasting (72 hr) increased the specific activity of the mitochondrial lipid from both control and deficient animals, but the specific activity of the vitamin A-deficient rats remained higher.