Copper is unique among cations in that its balance is regulated by the liver. The liver regulates copper balance by excretion of copper (we call it regulatory copper) in the bile destined for loss in the stool. However, most copper secreted into the gastrointestinal tract, for example, that in saliva and gastric juice, is reabsorbed. The biochemical mechanism by which the normal liver "packages" regulatory copper to prevent its reabsorption is not understood. Whatever the mechanism, it appears to have failed in Wilson's disease, because patients with Wilson's disease do not excrete adequate amounts of regulatory copper in their bile to prevent copper accumulation. In the present work, we have studied cholecystokinin-stimulated biliary secretions obtained by intestinal intubation of five normal subjects and five patients with Wilson's disease. Studies of these secretions reveal: (1) that normal but not Wilson's disease biliary samples had a copper-containing peak in the void volume from Sephadex G-75 columns; (2) that the amount of copper in this peak extrapolated to 24 hours of secretion was appropriate to maintain normal copper balance; (3) that the amount of copper in this peak increased with dietary copper supplementation of normal subjects; (4) that normal but not Wilson's disease biliary samples cross-reacted with each of two ceruloplasmin antibodies; and (5) that the high molecular weight Sephadex G-75 fraction from normal but not from Wilson's disease biliary samples cross-reacted with ceruloplasmin antibody. We postulate that the high molecular weight copper-containing substance observed with Sephadex chromatography in normal biliary samples but absent in Wilson's disease samples is the copper-packaging mechanism for copper balance regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)