Response of three strains of albino rats to xylose and galactose

¹ Department of Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

Development time of cataracts induced by feeding a 60% galactose diet was 32 days for Carworth Farm Nclson (CN) strain rats, 20 days for Rochester colony-ex Wistar (RW) strain and 14 days for the Holtzman (H) strain animals. The magnitude of galactose calcariuria associated with galactose feeding was not significantly different in these three strains. A greater galactose-induced depression in bile volume flow occurred in animals of the H and RW strains than in the CN strain rats. No ophthalmologic changes developed in CN strain animals during the feeding of a 30% xylose diet. Cataractous changes accompanied by the characteristic decrease in lens potassium content occurred in RW and H strain rats fed xylose. Ophthalmologic changes were more marked in the H strain. These findings provide further evidence that a common mechanism is involved in the cataractous changes associated with xylose and galactose. Also, the findings suggest that the galactose-induced depression in bile volume flow but not the calcariuria show similar strain variations.