Abstract
Summary
Young pigs were rendered copper deficient as demonstrated by serum copper levels and aortic tensile properties. Tail tendons of the same pigs had normal ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus, elastic recoil, and stress-relaxation compared to controls. These results suggest that lysine-derived cross-links of insoluble collagen of tendon may not be decreased in copper deficiency, as are the analogous elastin cross-links, or that such cross-linkages may not be the limiting factor in determining tensile strength of collagen, as they appear to be in elastin.
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