Lipid peroxidation in liver mitochondria from copper-loaded rats.

The amount of phospholipids in liver mitochondria decreased after chronic alimentary copper-loading of rats (40 mg CuSO4 per rat per day in the course of two weeks), while 24 hours after a single intraperitoneal injection of copper (20 mg CuSO4 per kg body weight) it remained unchanged, notwithstanding that both copper treatments highly increased the copper level in mitochondria. Alimentary copper-loading led to a decrease in the relative proportions of the majority of unsaturated fatty acids in mitochondrial phospholipids. Both the spontaneous and Fe2+-induced formation of malonaldehyde were more enhanced in the mitochondria from the two experimental groups as compared to the controls.