The influence of vitamin E deficiency and combined deficiency in vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids on the biosynthesis and degradation of rat central nervous system myelin.

The ability to incorporate intracranially injected 14C-labelled leucine into central nervous system (CNS) myelin was studied in developing rats fed a control diet, a diet deficient in vitamin E and a diet deficient both in vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The turnover of radioactivity incorporated into myelin and the distribution of radioactivity between the individual proteins of rat CNS myelin at various stages of the deficiency state was studied. Impaired myelin formation was found in cases of both types of deficiency. The level of incorporated radioactivity was raised by both types of deficiency throughout the experimental period. The mean half life of myelin radioactivity was found higher in combined deficient animals as compared to control and vitamin-E-deficient rats. The distribution of radioactivity between myelinproteins, separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, appeared identical in the three experimental groups.