The effect of vitamin E deficiency on the induction of age pigment in various tissues of the mouse.

The effect of a dietary deficiency of vitamin E on the concentrations of lipofuscin in the hippocampus and the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus, and in adrenal cortical cells was assessed in male mice. The animals were fed either a control diet or the vitamin E deficient diet after 2 months of age for a period of 6 months. There was no significant difference in the growth curves of the 2 groups of animals over the period studied. Fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to assess the effect of the diet on lipofuscin in the different tissues. Quantitative morphological techniques were used to determine the relative volumes of lipofuscin in the neurons from the SON and in the adrenal cortical cells. There was no significant difference in the concentration of lipofuscin in the SON neurons after vitamin E deficiency but there was a significant increase in the adrenal cortical cells. There was a clear difference in the effect of the deficiency on mitotic and fixed post-mitotic cells over the period investigated but further studies would be necessary to determine whether or not there was a critical period in the life span where vitamin E deficiency may induce changes in all cell types.