The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the blue copper oxidase ceruloplasmin [ferroxidase, iron (II):oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.16.3.1] and of a derivative having the type I (blue) copper centers reversibly bleached are reported. The EPR spectrum of bleached ceruloplasmin has a seven-line superhyperfine structure in the g : formula: (see text) region that is attributed to the pre...

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were raised on a copper-deficient diet for 4 weeks. At that time their plasma contained little or no ceruloplasmin oxidase activity but did form a precipitate with a rabbit antibody to rat ceruloplasmin. Immunoelectrophoresis of plasma from copper-deficient rats revealed that the substance precipitating with the anticeruloplasmin antibody had the same properties as apoc...

Aceruloplasminemia is an autosomal recessive disorder of iron metabolism. Affected individuals evidence iron accumulation in tissue parenchyma in association with absent serum ceruloplasmin. Genetic studies of such patients reveal inherited mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene. To elucidate the role of ceruloplasmin in iron homeostasis, we created an animal model of aceruloplasminemia by disrupt...

Macular degeneration associated with age and drusen, an important cause of visual loss, is associated clinically with alterations in the retinal pigmented epithelium. Because the pigmented epithelium is a copper-rich tissue with antioxidant properties, the copper economy in patients and controls were studied by measuring ceruloplasmin. Ceruloplasmin, a multifunctional, copper-binding alpha-glob...

125I-Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) 1-38 is able to bind a factor in human plasma, which can be displaced by unlabelled PACAP 1-38 and PACAP 28-38 but not by the other biologically active form, PACAP 1-27. Likewise, 125I-PACAP 28-38 binds this plasma factor, whereas 125I-PACAP 1-27 does not. Apparent Kd values were measured to be 12.0+/-1.3 and 3.4+/-1.5 nM for PACAP...

Concentrations of copper (Cu) and ceruloplasmin in serum were measured serially in 49 preterm infants with mean (+/- SEM) birth weights of 979 +/- 33 g and gestational ages of 28.4 +/- 0.3 weeks at three, six, nine, and 12 months postpartum. Serial radiographic studies showed 17 infants with (group A) and 32 infants without (group B) rickets or fractures. Cu and ceruloplasmin concentrations in ...

Obesity confers an increased risk of developing specific cancer forms. Although the mechanisms are unclear, increased fat cell secretion of specific proteins (adipokines) may promote/facilitate development of malignant tumors in obesity via cross-talk between adipose tissue(s) and the tissues prone to develop cancer among obese. We searched for novel adipokines that were overexpressed in adipos...

Copper concentrations were measured in naturally Cu-deficient and Cu-supplemented yearling Hereford heifers fed tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) or quackgrass (Agropyron repens [L] Beauv.) forage. The data were used to establish a relationship between dietary Cu supplementation and accumulation of liver Cu, and to test the influence of diet and Cu supplementation on blood plasma Cu and...

Estimations of serum copper, serum ceruloplasmin (immunochemical), and urinary amino-acids excretion (quantitative and chromatographic) in 44 healthy relatives of patients with Wilson's disease (39 from one family) are reported. Each technique revealed some abnormal individuals. Good agreement was obtained between the serum copper and serum ceruloplasmin estimations and between the quantitative...

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is precisely defined and the cardiovascular risk associated with the clustering of its components has been demonstrated in adults. However, data on children and adolescents are still scarce, in part, because of difficulties in transposing the definition from adults. The identification of risk factors for the development of MetS at an early age is essential for prev...