Acute thiamine deficiency was produced in mice by the administration of oxythiamine, a thiamine analogue, superimposed upon a thiamine deficient diet. Adult male Swiss mice (30 gm. B.W.) were fed with a thiamine deficient diet ad libitumand were injected with oxythiamine (170 mg/Kg B.W.) subcutaneously on days 4 and 10. On day 11, severe lassitude and anorexia developed, followed by death within 48 hours. The animals treated daily with subcutaneous injections of thiamine (300 μg/Kg B.W.) from day 11 through 15 were kept alive. Similarly, feeding with a diet containing thiamine (600 μg/Kg B.W./day) from day 9 through 17 reversed the condition. During this time period, no fatal illness occurred in the controls which were pair-fed with a thiamine deficient diet.The oxythiamine-treated mice showed a significant enlargement of the liver, which weighed approximately 1.5 times as much as that of the pair-fed controls. By light and electron microscopy, the hepatocytes were markedly swollen due to severe fatty change and swelling of the mitochondria.
Adult male replacement and subsequent infant care by male and siblings in socially monogamous owl monkeys (Aotus azarai)
