No abstract

Nickel deficiency was produced in rats fed diet (containing 2-15 ng of mickel/g) based on dried skim mile, acid-washed ground corn, EDTA-extracted soy protein, and corn oil. Controls were fed a supplemental 3 mug of nickel/g of diet as NiCl2-6H2O. The rats were raised in plastic cages located inside laminar flow racks. Nickel deprivation resulted in several consistent pathological findings. These included: (1) increased perinatal mortality, (2) unthriftiness in young rats characterized by a rough coat and/or uneven hair development, (3) altered gross appearance (color) of the liver, (4) increased rate of alpha-glycerophosphate oxidation by liver homogenates, (5) decreased liver cholesterol, and (6) ultrastructural changes in the liver with the most obvious difference in the amount and organization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Nickel deficiency in rats tended to decrease growth, hematocrits, and liver total lipids and phospholipids.

Nickel deficiency was produced in chicks under near optimal growth conditions. This judgment is based on the finding that chicks fed the experimental diet supplemented with nickel had a very satisfactory growth rate, over 600 g in 4 weeks. To induce nickel deficiency, chicks were raised in plastic cages located inside plastic isolators and were fed diets (containing 2-15 ng of nickel/g) based on dried skim milk, acid-washed ground corn, EDTA-extracted soy protein, and corn oil. In 2 experiments, controls were fed 3 mug of nickel/g as NiCl2-6H2O. In experiment 3, instead of 1 control group 25, 50, 250, and 2,500 ng/g of supplemental dietary nickel as NiCl2-6H2O were each given to separate groups of chicks. Nickel deprivation resulted in: ultrastructural changes in the liver with the most obvious abnormality in the organization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum; altered gross appearance, reduced oxidative ability, and decreased lipid phosphorus in the liver; altered shank skin pigmentation that was associated with a decrease in yellow lipochrome pigments; and lower hematocrits. Deficiency also tended to increase the thickness of the legs and size of the hock; decrease the length:width ratios of the tibias and femurs; and decrease the plasma cholesterol. None of the signs of deficiency were seen in chicks fed diets containing at least 52 ng of nickel/g. In one experiment, a group of birds was fed 50 mug of rhodium/g of diet as (ClRh(NH3)5)SO4 to ascertain whether rhodium is a metabolic antagonist of nickel. Supplemental rhodium increased the hematocrits and liver oxidative ability of both nickel-deficient and -supplemented chicks, and increased total liver lipids, liver lipid phosphorus, and liver cholesterol in the nickel-deficient chicks alone. Rhodium did not increase the signs of nickel deficiency.