82 NUTRITION REVIEWS sugars of the Iymphoeyte are necessary for the posteapillary venitle endothelial cells 40.recognize the Iymphoeyte and remove it from the circulation. “This concept is strengthened hy several other studies, Sir- face sugars are the site of attachment of influenza virus to red blood eclls (F. M Burnet, Physiol. Rev. 31, 181 (1951); A. Gottschalk, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 23, 645 (1967). Surface sugars also may playa role in bacterial mating (P. H. A. Sneath and J. Lederberg, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sei. 47, 86 (1961)}, and in the aggregation of mam malian eells in culture (A. Moscona, Biological Interactions in Normal and N plastic Growth, M, J. Brevvan and WL Simpson, Editors, Little, Brown and Com= pany, Boston, 1962; 1. Weiss, in The Struee ture and Function of Mevsbranes and Su faces of Cells. Bise2smieal Society Symposinia No. 22, D. J. Bell and dK Grant, Editors, Cambridge University Press, London, 1963). This field of investigation into the fore: which hold cells together in orga which determine their many complex in- teractions one,srith-anozher, exciting one with the in:y these findings ‘that surface to be the specific fac’ involved, INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VITAMINS A AND F Large doves of vitamin A deplete hepatic and serum alpha-tocophest in vate. Vitamin A deficiency in chicks alters protein metabolisn: aid et enhance? ihcorpora tion of emina acids into protein, unless large amounts of vitomin E are ied. These effects may result from altered membrane permeability The fat soluble vitamins have been studied extensively for many years, yet our knowledge about their intermediary metab- olism is relatively meager. For example, swe know that vitamin A is necessary for the formation of visual purple, and f tegrity of many epithelial struct cessive amounts of vitamin A are toxic bot) to man and experimental animals. Con- genital deformities of mice ean result from hypervitaminosis A (HI. Kalter and J, War- Kany, Am J: Path. 88, 1 (1961)). But the enzymatic or other means whereby these effects are necomptished remain obscure Similarly, the tocopherols are known to be necessary for a groat many biological processes, Absenee of them resu paired fertility, myopathy, and encephalo- malacia in animals. A useful test for vita- min E deficiency involves hemolysis of erythrocytes by dilute hydrogen peroxide or by dialuric acid (C. S, Rose and P. Gyérgy, Am. J. Physiol. 168, 415 (1952)) We know that this vitamin is s powerful autiosidant whieh, among other actions, ts im ime pstences such aseorbie acid, protects easily oxidizable as unsaturated fatty acts and vitemin A. Recent reports suggest that there is more than a casual relationship between vitamin A. and alpbs-tocopherol.: W. J. -Pudelkie~ wiez, L, Webster, and 1. D. Matterson J. Nutrition 81, 113 (1695-1 studied these vitamins in ehicks made defient in vita min A. At the.age of two weeks these binds were given Waiving aroun of vitamin A acetate in their diet (0.5. 5. 50, 500, or 5,000 img. per kg. of diet) for ive. ten, 07 20 da befbre they were sacrificed The authors speeulated ties of vitamin A might effect upon toropherol mezsbolism as previ ously reparted by J.T. Irving-and 0. E. Bundtz-Olsen (Brit. J. Nutrition 9, 301 (195. Thid. 12, 199 (1958)). Iov~ ad Found that the protective ef= ‘amin Eon the dental health of rats eould be auantities of vitamin A ated that th bat lsirge quanti- © a detrimentat 5 Irvin ed by feeding large and they alMarch 1988) NUTRITION le to the highly unsaturated necompanied the vitamin A. Puselkiewien and -co-vorkor collected samples of blod and liver from their eke for- determination of the vitamin A. and tocopherol content, ‘They found that when more than 50 mg, per kg. of vitamin A ace- tate was added fo the dit the quantity of tocopherol in both plasma snd liver hegon to decrease tn the samples from chicke which ere“fednge doses of uitamine they had dificuty in determining the tocopherol content because of interference by the vitamin A, They devised a method for solving. this. problem, the details. of which will be of great interest to other in- sestigatore inthis fla (Dheir observation eave definite evidence tat excessively large fioses of vitamin A did in fact Interfere in way with tocopherol iactabolicm, ince the quantities of vitannin 3 present in Poth iver nnd plasma decreased under tess conditions, It would have been stil more convinciig if they had measured rythroeyte hemolysis of these chicks. ‘A companion_reportgives further evi- ence ofan interrelated effect. einen itamin A- and- alpha-tocopherol (0. A. Roels et al., J. Nutrition 84, 161 (1964)) is group ‘previously found that vitamie h deieney in rats cated fxifing of their im-albumin “and an inereare in, ther jerum globulins (U.K. Vakil;Roels, and M. rout Brit, J. Nutrition 18 277 (1964)), Jang similar lines is « previous eport by A. Duselko (Uhr. J. Biochem. 34, 69 1962)}-who found a higher rate Gf methi- pine. incorporation. into. liver, kidneys, ul serum proweine of vitauain A detent ia which were fed alow protein die. Roeland his group were already aware vat vitamin A defeieney inflaenees the seopherol satus of animals (B. E. Havin Bunyan, J. Gieen, and Ae, Diploc iit, J. Nation 16, 195 (1202)) JAevont. has, hey set out to study erates of sans in lictary alpha-tocopkezel upon toils whey REVIEWS rats, This they did by determining serum proteins in vitamin A deficient rats which were fed two levels of alpha-tocopherol: a relatively low or a very high amount. They further studied the protein metabolism by incubating the diaphragm of their experi- mental animals in a solution eontaining ear- bon-14-Iabeled amino acids, They also re- ported the coneentration of vitamin A and tocopherol in the livers of their animals, ‘The entire experiment was designed so that each experimental animal had a pair fed control, As anticipated, they found that the vita- min A deficient animals had no detectable vitamin A in their livers Control animals hada normal amount of Hepatic vitamin A, but in animals given large amount pha-locopherol “the concentration in the liver was significantly higher. ‘ther vitamin A deficiency nor the level of dietary alpha-tocopherol influenced total serum proteins, but the fractions were dig nificantly altered. Thus vitamin A deficient rats fed a large amount of vitamin B had higher than normal eoneentrations of alpha, beta, and gamina-globulins, whereas in the vitamin A deficient rats fed a lower amount, of vitamin E only the beta and gamma- globulins were significantly inerensed, Al- bumin concentration was significantly lower in both groups of vitamin A deficient rats and was not influenced by the level of vita- min Bin the diet, Amino acid incorporation into the pro- teins of the isolated diaphragin is of great interest. Methyl-C*-methionine and UL- Clphenylalanine were incorporated “into iaphragmatie protein at a higher rate than normal in-the vitamin A deficient rats fed the lower level of vitamin E, But the re- verse was true when vitamin A deficient rats were fed a high level of vitamin E, In an attempt to explain these findings the suthors recalled that dietary alpha- tocopherol ean protect vitamin A in tissues by means of its antiosidant effect. ‘This, of | acourse, isin agreement with the findings of othersVitainin-A-deficieney, however, sig nificantly inereased the amount. of tocoph rol in the liver of rats fed the-high level of alpha-tocopherol. similar but lesser feet was noted in rats fed the lower level of tovoptrerol- inv their diet: Phe authors: felt that “by “feeding a high” level of alpti {eeophierol, they had fully saturated the tis- een ses oF thoir animals with vitamin E. ‘The aktered protein-metaboliem may be explained i mem brane permeability in vitamin A deficiency. If this assumption is correct, the altered permeability. would-change. the intracellu- lar conséntration of amino acids available for synthesis. into proteins. ‘The- authors quoted A.M. Glauert, MR. Daniel, J. &, Lucy, ant ET. Dingle {4-Cett Biol 27, 111 (19631) who noted that alpha-tocoph~ rol reverses the effect of vitamin A on cell ‘menbrane stability In the present study, diaphragms were ‘equilibrated. in- Krebs-Henseleit medium Im studying man, it-has been virtually 2 “ithpossible to “Tattor, NaGitivis, trom other enviromental — ---——fretonmhiek-ehange in proportion to the level of economic development in the area ‘under surveillance. Séfidies of aiimals of a single strain have uevally examined the in- uence of nutrition on growth and behavior after weaning. Controlled studies of under- nutrition during lactation such as those reported by B, M. Widdowson_gnd G. C, Kennedy (Proc, Roy. Soe.: Biol. Sci. 156, 96 (1962)) who deliberately increased the size of litters suckled by one mother have rarely been reported. It is of considerable interest therefore to note that workers in one laboratory have devoted their attention for several years to the effect of dietary re- NUTRITION REVIEWS “When the tissues were then placed in. a Vol. 23, No. 3 which was free of amino acids. The author reagoned that if the vitamfa A deficient rats fed a normal amount of vitamin E had in- creased-eel membrane: permesbilit equilibration of isolated sue in the buffering solution picted- these -tiseues of their amino acids, soltition containing C* labeled amino acids they might take up these amino acids more avidly than normal, and the result would be the high concentrations observed. By contrast, the rats deficient in vitamin ‘A but fed a very high level of alphs-tocoph- cerol sight: he- expected to have less eel! membrane permeability. than the other group and hence would neither lose ex- cessive amounts of amino acids at the time -of-equitibeation, -nor take up abnormally large quantities of the labeled amino acids. ‘These speculations sound plausible, and should lead to additional studies of cell - ‘membrane permeability as influenced bj these two vitamins. EFRECT OF MATERNAL DIET ON GROWTH OF RAT PUPS Food consumption by female rats during gestation qnd lactation infucnce® the aproseth rate and mazimim weight of ofspring fed ad Ubi : striction during pregnaney’ in rats on the olate_one ~envitanmental “body, weight ‘yain-of offspring. both folloyy- ing pregnancies in which the dict was re- stricted (B, F_ Chow and C. J. Lee, J. Nutrition 82, 70 (1984) and in preg- nancies” feubsequent to the ones in which the diet was restricted) during which no dietary restriction was imposed (Chow, J Nutrition 83, 289 (19043). In both sels of studies, groups of feriale rats chosen at random from « population of the original McCollum strain three to four months of age were used, In the first series ‘of experiments, eight. groups of three. fe- males each were bred and three of the roups were assigned for unrestricted intake of dicts designed to provide at least two to three times the known requirements of ali