Changes in rat lung collagen after life-time treatment with vanadium

Male Wistar rats were treated in the period from conception up to the 105th day of age with 40 and 60 ppm of vanadium, given as sodium metavanadate in the drinking water. It was found that total collagen and soluble collagen within the lungs of treated animals were significantly lower than in non-treated controls. The decrease in total collagen content observed was not dependent on the dose of vanadium administered. While the content of soluble collagen decreased significantly with increasing dose, the content of insoluble collagen in the lungs of the same rats was significantly higher than in controls and increased with an increase in the dose of vanadium administered. The increase in insoluble collagen was not accompanied by an increased content of hexoses and free aldehydes but by an increased content of collagen-bound vanadium. The results seem to indicate that this metal participates in an increased formation of insoluble collagen by forming additional cross-links between vanadium ions and the ligand groups in the amino acid side-chains.