VITAMIN A AND ISOPRENOID SYNTHESIS IN THE RAT.

1. Vitamin A-deficient rats were compared with similar animals given small amounts of vitamin A sufficient for adequate growth and with animals given large amounts of vitamin A. The effects of pair-feeding and feeding ad libitum were compared. 2. Ubiquinone and cholesterol concentrations in liver were measured at various stages of the deficiency, and the uptake of radioactive mevalonate and acetate into isoprenoid compounds was studied. 3. Ubiquinone concentrations in liver increased markedly in deficient rats compared with adequate controls, and heavy vitamin A supplementation had a further effect in depressing ubiquinone concentrations. These effects were unrelated to food intake or to the size of the organs. 4. Radioactive uptake into ubiquinone was often greater in deficient livers, especially during the early stages of the experiments, but the effect was not consistent. 5. Cholesterol concentrations were usually higher in deficient livers and these were more affected by the feeding regimen. 6. No consistent effect of vitamin A deficiency or of vitamin A dosage on the incorporation of mevalonate into cholesterol or squalene was found. 7. No evidence has been found for a specific effect of vitamin A on isoprenoid synthesis at the metabolic level.