Excessive intake of copper: influence on longevity and cadmium accumulation in mice.

Feeding copper gluconate in the drinking water to C57BL/6J male for a lifetime decreased the mean survival times by 14.4% when given at a concentration of 5 X 10(-3) M (317 ppm copper). The maximum life span was reduced by 12.8% (from 986 to 874 days). Survival data at lower copper concentrations are also reported. Serum, brain, heart and kidney copper concentrations were unaltered by feeding 5 X 10(-3) M copper gluconate. Only liver concentrations increased. Cadmium concentrations in liver and kidney of 168-, 406- and 644-day-old mice were essentially unchanged after feeding copper gluconate for 104 days. We conclude that chronic consumption of copper does not prevent or reduce the normal accumulation of cadmium found in aging mice.