Nickel deficiency in rats.

Nickel deficiency was produced in rats fed diet (containing 2-15 ng of mickel/g) based on dried skim mile, acid-washed ground corn, EDTA-extracted soy protein, and corn oil. Controls were fed a supplemental 3 mug of nickel/g of diet as NiCl2-6H2O. The rats were raised in plastic cages located inside laminar flow racks. Nickel deprivation resulted in several consistent pathological findings. These included: (1) increased perinatal mortality, (2) unthriftiness in young rats characterized by a rough coat and/or uneven hair development, (3) altered gross appearance (color) of the liver, (4) increased rate of alpha-glycerophosphate oxidation by liver homogenates, (5) decreased liver cholesterol, and (6) ultrastructural changes in the liver with the most obvious difference in the amount and organization of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Nickel deficiency in rats tended to decrease growth, hematocrits, and liver total lipids and phospholipids.