Neonatal and Adult 64Copper Metabolism in the Pig and Its Relationship to Copper Metabolism in Wilson’s Disease

The copper profiles of the neonatal mammals including man are indistinguishable from Wilson’s disease ie. high liver copper, low plasma copper and caeruloplasmin. Soon after birth there is a switch to the adult mode of copper metabolism, liver copper falls and both plasma copper and caeruloplasmin concentrations increase. We have previously postulated that Wilson’s disease is caused by genetic failure to switch from the fetal to adult mode of copper metabolism1. Wilson’s disease patients handle radioactive copper in a characteristic manner which aids diagnosis2. To test the hypothesis that WD is caused by perpetuation of the fetal mode of copper metabolism into childhood, we have studied copper profiles and 64Cu handling in neonatal and adult pigs.