NEWER FINDINGS ON A UNIFIED PERSPECTIVE OF COPPER RESTRICTION AND CARDIOMYOPATHY

The cuproenzymes lysyl oxidase, cytochrome-c oxidase, and superoxide d ismutase are key factors in understanding the cardiac hypertrophy and cardiomyopathy associated with dietary copper restriction, The role of copper in cardiac lipid and energy metabolism as a consequence of cha nges in some of these enzyme activities in comparison with what is kno wn about normal cardiac substrate utilization is discussed here, While the decrease in the nuclear encoded subunits of cytochrome-ce oxidase in hearts from copper-deficient rats is known, new evidence suggests that other factors, such as ATP synthase metabolism may be exerting an influence upon this observation, While this review focuses on newer k nowledge about energy and fatty acid metabolism in copper deficiency, the extracellular matrix is considered as well. This complex interplay of extracellular and cellular events in copper restriction is outline d as a model for further studies of this unique model of concentric hy pertrophy.