Copper: relation to penicillamine-induced defect in collagen.

When rats were depleted of copper by administration of a copperdeficient diet, no abnormalities developed in dermal collagen. In contrast, marked changes were produced by penicillamine although the degree of copperdeficiency induced by the drug was less. Large additions of copper to the diet failed to prevent the penicillamine-induced collagen defect when the drug was given parenterally. The effect of penicillamine on soft-tissue collagen appears to be unrelated to its copper-chelating properties.