Trypanosoma duttoni: Pyruvate and pantothenate levels in plasma and liver tissue of normal and pantothenic acid-deficient mice

Progressive changes in pyruvate and pantothenate in tissues of mice infected with Trypanosoma duttoni are described. Blood pyruvate levels in well fed, trypanosome-free control mice averaged 0.31 ± 0.03 mg/100 ml; well fed infected experimental mice averaged 0.41 ± 0.04 mg/100 ml. In mice given the pair-fed control diet, blood pyruvate levels averaged 0.38 ± 0.02 mg/100 ml for trypanosome-free animals and 0.47 ± 0.02 mg /100 ml for infected ones. In mice given the pantothenate-deficient diet blood pyruvate levels averaged 0.61 ± 0.04 mg/100 ml for noninfected control animals and 0.60 ± 0.04 mg/100 ml for trypanosome-infected ones. Pantothenic acid levels in plasma of mice averaged 434 ± 7 ng/ml for well fed, uninfected animals, and 450 ± 7 ng for trypanosome-infected ones. Those on the pair-fed diet averaged 303 ± 8 ng if uninfected, and 320 ± 7 ng if trypanosome infected. Pantothenate-deficient mice averaged 193 ± 5 ng/ml of plasma if noninfected, and 201 ± 5 ng if infected. Liver pantothenate levels in mice fed a complete diet were the same in uninfected, control and in mice inoculated with only 100 trypanosomes (56 μg/g tissue). Pair-fed control mice averaged 48 ± 4 μg/g liver and were no different from mice inoculated with 100 trypanosomes. Mice fed a pantothenate-deficient diet and free of trypanosomes had 25 ± 3 μg/g and were not statistically different from those inoculated with 100 trypanosomes (20 ± 3). When given an inoculum of 106 trypanosomes the differences in liver panthothenate levels between infected and control mice became significant. Those well-fed and infected averaged 61 ± 3 μg/g liver of pantothenic acid (vs 57 ± 3 for controls). Pair-fed control mice showed similar differences: 23 ± 4 for uninfected vs 28 ± 3 μg/g for infected animals. Mice given the pantothenate-deficient diet showed similar differences also: 52 ± 3 for trypanosome-free and 56 ± 3 for infected mice. The pyruvate and pantothenate levels in tissues expressed above are averages of a series over a time span. Day to day differences were marked and significant usually only after 30 or more days had elapsed since introduction of trypanosomes.