Understanding copper homeostasis in humans and copper effects on health

Abstract

In summary, these studies shed light on the effects of chronic and acute copper dosing in healthy adults. In the chronic studies, the administration of 10 mg Cu/d mixed with food for two months did not induce adaptive responses, but 10 mg Cu/d administered as a single dose per day (mimicking a daily bolus) during two months provoked a transient response of liver enzyme activities and of peripheral mononuclear cell glutathione. A dose of 8 mg Cu per day for 6 months did not trigger detectable responses but showed that seasonality is likely to be another variable that influences the responses observed. Considering that 10 mg of copper per day represents an Upper Limit for human chronic consumption of copper, further studies should clarify the safety of this figure when different regimens are used. In the acute studies, the differences observed in serum copper curves after a single dosing of 10 mg copper (as copper sulfate) suggest that adaptation to copper takes place after 6 months of loading; however, the results do not permit speculation about the mechanisms involved. In addition, these studies show that individuals' Cp concentration in serum reliably differentiate subgroups within the normal population in their response to excess Cu. © 2006 Sociedad de Biología Chile.