Effect of dietary copper and iron restriction on aconitase activity and antioxidant capacity of liver, kidney and heart from growing rats.

Dietary copper- and iron restriction was achieved by application of the whole milk diet to growing rats in the course of 50 days. Three distinct responses of cytosolic and mitochondrial aconitases as well as of antioxidant defense system (CuZnSOD, MnSOD, catalase and GSH) to the dietary copper- and iron deficiency were established in liver, kidney and heart from experimental rats. The results were discussed with a view to the participation of ROS-generating processes in copper- and iron-deficient state. Differences in oxidative stability of cytosolic and mitochondrial aconitase activity of both control and experimental rats were also found. The in vitro increased aconitase activity of cytosol and the unchanged one of mitochondria from liver upon exposure of preparations to air were proved in vivo upon dietary copper- and iron restriction. This finding was interpreted to suggest the existence of putative aconitase activity.