Effect of the Severity of Maternal Zinc Deficiency on Pregnancy Outcome and Infant Zinc Status in Rhesus Monkeys

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
To investigate the effects of the severity of maternal zinc deficiency on early development, rhesus monkeys were fed diets that were either moderately zinc-deficient (MZD) (2 μg Zn/g) or marginal in zinc (M) (4 μg Zn/g throughout pregnancy and lactation. Dams in the MZD group developed overt signs of zinc deficiency. Compared with control dams fed diets adequate in zinc (C) (50 or 100 μg Zn/g), both M and MZD dams showed low mitogen response. Pregnancy outcome was similar in all groups, and infants were considered healthy at delivery. From birth until d 30, infants were closely monitored for signs of zinc deficiency. On d 30, infants were killed and tissues were analyzed for several parameters reported to be affected by zinc status. MZD infants tended to have lower plasma zinc concentrations than C infants, although the difference was only significant at d 14. M infants tended to have lower plasma zinc concentrations than C infants. Mitogen response was lower in MZD and M infants than in C infants. However, mitogen responses were similar in MZD and M infants. Liver zinc concentrations were similar among the three groups of infants; however, zinc and metallothionein concentrations in (10 000 × g) liver supernatant fractions were lower in the MZD and M groups than in the C group. 65Zn absorption/retention was higher in MZD and M mothers and infants than in C mothers and infants; there were no marked differences between MZD and M mothers or infants. In contrast to whole-body absorption, 65Zn uptake/retention by isolated hepatocytes was similar among the three infant groups. Plasma metallothionein concentrations were higher in the MZD mothers during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester than in the M or C mothers and higher than C mothers on d 30 postpartum; plasma metallothionein concentrations were similar among the three groups of infants. These results demonstrate that feeding a diet containing 2 μg Zn/g to rhesus monkeys during pregnancy and lactation results in marked signs of zinc deficiency, whereas feeding a diet containing 4 μg Zn/g results in only subtle signs.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: