Use of immunoresponsiveness to demonstrate that the dietary requirement for copper in young rats is greater with dietary fructose than dietary starch.

Weaned male Lewis rats were pair-fed diets containing 62.7% fructose or starch and either 6-7 mg Cu/kg diet (adequate) or 0.7 mg Cu/kg diet (deficient) for 33 d. Antibody titers after primary immunization with sheep erythrocytes were significantly lower in rats fed copper-deficient diets. Compared to starch, fructose markedly attenuated antibody production in copper-deficient rats. Dietary carbohydrate did not affect the humoral immune response of rats fed diets with adequate copper. Concentrations of copper in thymus, spleen, liver and heart were also significantly lower in rats fed fructose with deficient copper (F-Cu) than in the group fed starch with deficient copper. Thymic hypogenesis was observed only in the F-Cu group. Tissue concentrations of copper were reduced before antibody production was impaired. Repletion of previously copper-deficient rats rapidly restored immunocompetence and stimulated thymic growth. Immunoresponsiveness and tissue concentrations of copper reached control levels in rats fed diets containing starch and fructose at 1.2-1.6 and 2.2-2.9 mg Cu/kg diet, respectively. The results demonstrate that the amount of dietary copper required for optimal function of the humoral immune system, thymic growth and maintenance of normal tissue levels of this essential micronutrient is greater when young rats are fed diets with fructose than with starch.