Experiments were carried out to examine the value of CCS (copper chaperone for CuZn superoxide dismutase) as a novel biomarker of zinc-induced mild copper deficiency and to evaluate the changes in expression of zinc transporters in response to graded levels of moderately high dietary zinc. Weanling male Wistar rats were fed graded levels of zinc (30, 60, 120 and 240 mg zinc/kg diet) for 5 weeks. Results showed a dose-dependent decrease in copper content and an increase in CCS expression in tissues of rats fed the Zn-60 and Zn-120 diets. Surprisingly, rats fed the Zn-240 diet showed better copper status than rats fed the Zn-120 diet. Expression of zinc transporters was significantly upregulated in the small intestine of Zn-240 rats. Collectively, these data show that CCS is responsive to zinc-induced mild copper deficiency, and can serve as a sensitive biomarker of mild copper deficiency. The increased expression of intestinal zinc transporters expression may account for the better copper status of Zn-240 rats.

The object of this study is to determine the effect, if any, of the copper and iron intake upon the hemoglobin levels of student nurses on self-chosen diets.

Copper is an essential trace element for living organisms and has both known and additional suspected roles in human health and disease. The current understanding of copper metabolism is substantial but incomplete, particularly in regard to storage and exchange at the subcellular level, although available evidence indicates exchangeable intracellular copper is in the monovalent oxidation state. Selective fluorescent probes with sufficient sensitivity to detect Cu(I) availability at physiologically relevant levels and at subcellular resolution would be valuable tools for studying copper metabolism. As a contribution toward this goal, this work describes the development of Cu(I)-selective fluorescent probes with greatly improved aqueous solubility, contrast ratio, and fluorescence quantum yield. This work also describes the development of water-soluble, 1:1-binding chelators that form colorless, air-stable copper(I)-complexes. By acting as copper(I) buffering agents and affinity standards, these compounds can serve a complementary role to fluorescent probes in the study of copper biochemistry.