[The effect of vitamin K deficiency in rats on various enzyme systems participating in energy metabolism]

In alimentary deficiency of vitamin K in rats, accompanied by an increase in the prothrombin time by 30%, activity of kidney creatine kinase and of blood serum alkaline phosphatase was unaltered, while the activity of alkaline phosphatase in small intestinal mucose was decreased by 20% and that of creatine kinase from skeletal muscles--by 10%. In vitamin K-deprived animals the rate of coupling between respiration and mitochondrial phosphorylation was decreased, which might be due to alteration in the NADH-dehydrogenase complex. Menadion reductase activity and cyanide-resistant respiration of mitochondria were unaltered in presence of menadion. Palmitic acid effectively activated of mitochondrial respiration in vitamin K-deprived animals (contrary to the control rats). This effect appears to occur as a result of structural alterations in mitochondria depending on vitamin K level in the organelles.