The Influence of Vitamin E Deficiency on Biological Membranes

The influence of vitamin E deficiency on the ultrastructure of intestinal epithelial cells and their membranes in particular was studied in groups of ducklings receiving vitamin E deficient and control diets. Electron micrographs and various parameters concerning vitamin E deficiency were related. Early changes in ultrastructure consisted of changes in cellular membranes, beginning with a loss of positive contrast in the outer membrane of mitochondria. Contrast loss in membranes is explained as a loss of double bonds and, therefore, most probably as a visualization of lipid peroxidation. The cell architecture is remarkably intact, but other changes, as a rise in number of Golgi apparatuses, multivesicular bodies and myelin figures, occur. These facts are discussed and fit in with the hypothesis of a disturbance of the steady state of membrane growth and breakdown, which we have depicted. However, the changes in cellular membranes are considered to be far more specific of vitamin E deficiency than the changes in the set and ultrastructure of cellular organelles.