Tissue changes induced by marginal vitamin C deficiency.

Chronic marginal vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs results in alterations in certain tissues that are quite different from those observed following acute deficiency. In autonomic ganglia, although changes observed in the organelles of some cells are similar to those seen in acute deficiency, the specific changes are the presence of large numbers of cilia in the cytoplasm of both ganglion cells and their associated neuroglia and the marked proliferation of collagen fibers in the extracellular spaces. The evidence presented points to a link between vitamin C and arteriosclerosis. One mode of interaction may be the effect of latent vitamin C deficiency on cholesterol metabolism. The data presented indicate important changes in the liver with marked increases of agranular endoplasmic reticulum. Together with the liver cholesterol studies, the indications suggest an increased cholesterol deposition in the liver. Light-microscopic sections of the aorta reveal alterations in many of these vessels ranging from endothelial proliferation to large, well-formed musculofibrotic arteriosclerotic plaques.