Biliary copper excretion was studied in male, bilecannulated rats of the inbred strains Fischer, Brown Norway, WAG/Rij and Lewis. After intravenous injection of 10,30 and 60 pg copper per 100 gm body weight, two patterns of copper excretion were observed; their profiles varied with the copper dose and the strain of the rats used. The lowest amounts of copper were excreted by Fischer rats, the highest by WAG/Rij rats; this was related to the effect of the copper dose on both patterns. The subcellular distribution of copper in the liver was studied in Fischer and Brown Norway rats after doses of 60, 100, and 200 pg per 100 gm body weight. Brown Norway rats accumulated more copper in the liver, although the copper concentration was the same in both strains 1 hr after injection of all doses. Fischer rats accumulated proportionally more copper in lysoeomal and nuclear mitochondrial fractions whereas Brown Norway rats accumulated proportionally more copper in the cytosol.
Gel filtration of liver supernatants revealed that the amount of copper accumulating in the protein presumed to be metallothionein was 2 to 3 times higher in Brown Norway rats, whereas in the Fischer rats more copper eluted in the void volume fraction. We conclude that both biliary copper excretion and copper distribution in the liver are under genetic control. Because of its low copper excretion and reduced binding of copper to me- tallothionein the Fischer rat, compared to other strains, may be a suitable model for studying the involvement of the liver in copper intoxication.
In the liver, two distinct mechanisms are present that may prevent incoming copper (Cu) from becoming toxic. The first mechanism is the excretion of Cu into the bile which, under normal conditions, is the main route of Cu excretion (1). The second mechanism is the binding of Cu to metallothionein (MT), a sulfhydryl-rich protein of low molecular weight that is able to bind other metals as well; the synthesis of MT is induced by the presence of Cu in the cell (2).
Somehow, these mechanisms may fail, and this may lead to accumulation of Cu in the liver and to accom-