A comparison of the distributions of the actinides uranium and thorium with the lanthanide gadolinium in the tissues and eggs of Japanese quail: concentrations of uranium in feeds and foods.

Japanese quail were given UCl3 , UO2 (NO3)2, Th(NO3)4, or GdCl3 ( 153Gd -labeled) intravenously in aqueous solution. Distribution of Th among the tissues was as for Gd; distributions of U(III) and U(VI) were markedly different. For example, 18 hr after a 1.5 mumol/100 g dose, accumulations in females were: growing oocytes, U(III) 2.0%, U(VI) 2.4%, Th 27.7%, Gd 44.7%; leg bones, U(III) 12.5%, U(VI) 14.1%, Th 1.2%, Gd 1.4%; liver, U(III) 1.1%, U(VI) 1.1%, Th 44.0%, Gd 40.2%. Whole body losses by 18 hr were: females, U 24%, Th 14%, Gd 4%; males, U 72%, Th 23%, Gd 1%. Cumulative depositions in yolks of eggs laid over 8 days were: U(III) 1.9%, U(VI) 1.7%, Th 57.3%, Gd 46.8%. The distribution of U in quail may be atypical of actinides . Concentrations of U in various feeds, foods, and mineral supplements ranged from 169 micrograms/g in a phosphate fertilizer for farm use to below the lower detectable limit of .01 microgram/g in many foods intended for human use. Two batches of the game bird laying ration supplied to the quail colony contained 3.05 and 4.42 micrograms U/g. Body burdens of 3.5 micrograms U/bird for noninjected quail were attributed to the U content of this feed.

Distribution of 140La and 47Ca in female Japanese quail and in the eggs laid.

140La accumulations in 20 tissues and tissue products of laying Japanese quail 1, 6 and 18 hr. after an intravenous dose of 15 mumol. La/100 g. body weight were greatest in the liver (43.1% at 18 hr.) and the growing oocytes (8.19% at 18 hr.). 47Ca accumulations 6 hr. after intravenous injection as compared with 140La levels were: shell 87.7% Ca, 0.0028% La; liver 0.110% Ca, 38.5% La; oocytes 0.852% Ca, 6.50% La. La3+ administered with the 47Ca did not alter the 47Ca levels. Deposition in eggs laid over an 8-day period was: 47Ca, shells 95.7%, maximum 77.6% on day 1; 140La, yolks 25.3%, maximum 8.35% on day 4.

Accumulation and distribution of ions of group-IIIA elements in the tissues and eggs of the Japanese quail.

Solutions of salts of the five Group-IIIA elements were given, intravenously, to mature Japanese quail. By 18 h, the accumulation maxima in the major tissues were: leg bones, 20% for Ga+3 (67Ga label) in estradiol-treated males; liver, 51% for Al+3 (26Al label) in control males; kidneys, 32% for In+3 (114mIn label) in estradiol-treated males; and growing oocytes plus ova, 37% for In. Accumulations of Tl+1 (202Tl label) were 6 times those for Ga or In in the brain and muscles, and .1 times in plasma. The cumulative maxima in egg components over 8 (B; Tl) or 10 (Al; Ga; In) days were B, 23% in albumen; Al, 38%, Ga 27%, In, 43% in yolks; Tl, 12% in shells. The accumulation of thallium in the eggshells markedly exceeded (P less than .001) the deposits of the other IIIA elements in shells, Al being the next highest at .54%.

Radiolanthanides as markers for vitellogenin-derived proteins in the growing oocytes of the Japanese quail.

Producing Japanese quail were given intravenous injections of radiolanthanides as trichlorides in .03N HCl solution. In quail given 15 mumol lanthanide pr 100 g body weight, the liver accumulated 46 to 82% of the dose by 18 hr after the injection. The growing oocytes accumulated 6 to 24% of the dose. The spleen had the greatest concentration of radiolanthanide (14 to 38%/g), the liver 9 to 19%/g, and the most heavily labeled oocytes 3 to 9%/g. The atomic number of the lanthanide for the 9 lanthanides used was not a factor in these accumulations. Levels of 140La were maximal in the membranes of the growing oocytes by 6 hr (4%) and in the contents by 2 days (19%). The smaller the number of mumol the greater was the percent accumulation in the oocytes. Thus, for .015 mumol 140La/100 g, 75% was present in the oocytes by 18 hr. The most heavily labeled oocytes contained 21%/g vs. 2.9%/g for the liver and 1.3%/g for the spleen. The sum of 140La depositions in eggs laid over 8 days (11 quail, 87 eggs) was, per quail, 89.6 +/- .6% (mean +/- SE) of the injected dose. The half-time value for deposition of 140La in the growing oocytes was 1.8 hr. This value represented the rate of loss of labeled vitellogenin from the plasma as vitellogenin-derived proteins were transferred into the oocytes.

Comparison of the transfer of 125I, 82Br, and 26Cl into the growing oocytes of the Japanese quail.

Laying Japanese quail were doubly-labeled with either 125I and 36Cl or 82Br and 36Cl. Eighteen-hour accumulations, expressed as percent of tracer doses, were: growing oocytes, 125I 48.2 vs. 36Cl 2.07, 82Br 4.01 vs. 36Cl 1.99; thyroids, 125I 10.6 vs. 36Cl .030, 82Br .027 vs. 36Cl .020. Concentrations (expressed as percent per gram) of the radionuclides in the growing oocytes and the thyroids as compared with concentrations in the plasma were: for oocytes, the mean 125I concentration was 199 times the mean plasma concentration, 82Br was .34 x and 36Cl was .13 x; for thyroids, 125I was 13,500 x, 82Br was .48 x, and 36Cl was .41 x the mean plasma concentration. Eight day totals for yolks of eggs laid were 125I 29% vs. 36Cl 3.7%.

Ovarian 125I transference in the laying Japanese quail: apparent stimulation by FSH and lack of stimulation by TSH.

Six-hour accumulations of 125I were measured in the growing oocytes and thyroids of laying Japanese quail injected with 0.002 to 2 mg. of FSH or 0.004 to 4 I.U. of TSH per day for six days. FSH at 0.2 and 2 mg./day increased the 125I content of the growing oocytes to 1.4 times the control values. The numbers and the total weights of these growing oocytes doubled. The egg-laying rate remained unchanged. The FSH-induced apparent stimulation of 125 I transference was seen as a consequence of the increase in oocyte material rather than to a direct effect of FSH on the membranes of the avarian follicular cells. TSH did not increase the transference of 125I.

Lithium-induced inhibition of 125I accumulation by thyroids and growing oocytes of Japanese quail.

A single dose of 975 mumol. Li Cl suppressed thyroidal accumulation of iodide in laying Japanese quail as measured at 1, 6, and 18 hr. after injecting 125 I and in mature male quail at 1 hr. Thyroidal accumulation was above control values in males by 18 hr. Levels of 125 I were unchanged in growing oocytes but in testes were 3 to 60 times the control levels. When accumulations were expressed relative to the concentration of 125I in the plasma, in lithium-treated quail levels in thyroids were 0.02 to 0.5 times, in oocytes 0.2 to 0.9 and in testes 0.7 to 0.8 times control values. Results indicate that a single large dose of LiCl caused retention of 125I in the extracellular fluid of Japanese quail and thereby in the testes but inhibited transport of the tracer into the thyroid and growing oocytes.

Distribution of 153Gd in F1 quail.

Eggs laid by 153 Gd-labeled Japanese quail were collected each day for 24 days. Maximum transference of the lanthanide to an oocyte approximated 27% of the dose given the quail and occurred usually for the egg collected on the third day. The 24 largest oocytes from each of 2 quail were removed 18 hr after labeling the quail. The curve for a plot of percent 153Gd vs. gram of oocyte for these 24 oocytes approximated a log-log function. Eggs double-labeled with 153 Gd and Sudan black B showed no label in the latebra. Quail hatched from labeled eggs were dissected at various times up to 67 days of age. The percent of egg 153 Gd that was found in the F1 quail decreased from 100% to approximately 55% during the first 14 days. The percentage recovery for mature quail was 55.8%. The major portion of the 153Gd present in each F1 quail was found in the yolk sac and ranged from 96.0% for hatchlings a few hours old to 73.3% for mature quail. The weight of the yolk sac decreased from .7 g for hatchlings to .04 g for mature quail. The first 5 eggs laid by producing F1 quail contained a total of .643% of the 153 Gd in these quail. The graph curve for these eggs for percent 153Gd vs. day of collection approximated an exponential function, in contrast to the marked maximum seen for 153Gd levels in eggs laid by the parent quail.

153Gadolinium as a useful radiolanthanide for long-term labeling of tissues in Japanese quail.

153Gadolinium (153Gd), with gamma energies of 97 keV (30%) and 103 keV (20%), and a nuclear-life of 242 days and with no primary charged particles, was selected as the radiolanthanide for labeling proteins and tissues in Japanese quail. Ranges of dose-responses 18 hr after giving Gd (153Gd labeled) were: males, livers 24.4% for .00015 mumol/100 g to 63.8% for .15 mumol/100 g; laying females, livers 6.5% for .00015 mumol/100 g to 72.7% for 15 mumol/100 g and growing oocytes 83.2% for .00015 mumol/100 g to 6.4% for 15 mumol/100 g. Accumulation of .015 mumol/100 g doses of 153Gd in tissues common to both sexes were greater in males than in females at 1, 6, and 18 hr. The exception was the pancreas, where for all three sampling times the percentages for females were twice those for males. Comparison of 153Gd with 140lanthanum (140La) showed 18-hr levels of 27%/g liver in males and 1.6%/g liver and 11.8%/g growing oocyte in females for both nuclides. Double-labeling with 153Gd and 144cerium (144Ce) showed that a near-toxic dose of La (15 mumol/100 g) caused a marked decrease in labeling of growing oocytes (e.g., largest oocyte, La-treated females, Gd 14.6%, Ce 6.1%; controls Gd 42.2%, Ce 35.5%) and a marked increase in labeling of livers (La-treated, Gd 51.2%, Ce 43.3%; controls; Gd 7.62%, Ce 4.75%).

Accidental suppression of the accumulation of radioiodide by the thyroids of Japanese quail exposed to an iodinated disinfectant.

The walls and floor of a room housing a Japanese quail colony were treated with a commercial disinfectant containing iodine complexed to organic molecules. The room was washed vigorously with hot water using a pressure hose, a procedure discouraged by instructions on the shipping container. A condensate, tinged yellow-brown presumably by elemental iodine, settled on the walls, ceiling and quail pens. Accumulations of tracer doses of iodide-125 or iodide-131 by the thyroid glands of these birds were approximately one-seventh (6-hour uptake) to one-thirtieth (18-hour uptake) as great as for control birds from non-disinfected areas.

Increased deposition of uranium in the bones of vitellogenic male Japanese quail. Effect of estradiol-17 beta on the distribution of uranium (VI), thorium (IV), gadolinium (III), and calcium (II).

Japanese quail were given, intramuscularly, either 16-mumol estradiol-17 beta (E2) in .25-ml ethanol solution/100 g body weight or .25 ml ethanol/100 g. Four days later, these quail were given, intravenously, 1.5-mumol UO2(NO3)2, Th(NO3)4, GdCl3 (153Gd-labeled) or CaCl2 (47Ca-labeled)/.15 ml .03 N HCl solution/100 g. The distribution of uranium among selected tissues was markedly different than for thorium or gadolinium and was approximately the same as for calcium. For example, 18 hr after giving the metal ions to the quail, the mean uranium content of the femora + tibiotarsi of E2-treated males was 15.4 +/- 1.3% (SE; n = 12) vs. 3.07 +/- .59% (12; P less than .001) for the control males. Similarly, 18 hr after giving calcium, the femora + tibiotarsi of E2-treated males had accumulated 20.8 +/- 1.5% (4) of the label vs. 9.94 +/- .46% (4; P less than .001) for controls. The livers of E2-treated males had 41.9 +/- 8.5% (4) of the thorium by 18 hr vs. 90.9 +/- 7.1% (4; P less than .01) for the controls, or 34.3 +/- 3.1% (8) of the gadolinium vs. 68.9 +/- 3.4% (8; P less than .001) for controls. The 18-hr accumulation of calcium in the femora + tibiotarsi of the E2-treated females was 18.0 +/- 1.1% (4) vs. 10.7 +/- 1.9% (4; P less than .05) for the controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Respirometer for small samples with automatic registration.

The respiration chamber containing the sample is a small glass test tube with a closure of KOH solution. During registration the gas volume is kept constant by adjusting the pressure through a feedback mechanism: a microscope projects the picture of the meniscus of KOH onto a photodiode connected to a pen recorder with a vertically moving pen. A levelling bulb with water mounted on the pen transmits the pressure adjustments to the KOH solution through a water filled tubing. The accuracy is +/-0.1 mm water column (1 Pa) and the minimum air volume is 10 nl, so that an oxygen consumption down to 1 pl can be seen.

Excess iodide and the accumulation of 125I by the thyroid, plasma and developing oocytes of the Japanese quail.

1. Developing oocytes of the Japanese quail accumulated 0-44 microgram of each 1 microgram of 125I-labelled iodide after intra-muscular injection of doses up to 500 microgram iodide as NaI but only 0-007 microgram after injection of more than this: the abrupt change in the rate of accumulation was attributed to saturation of the iodide transport mechanism. 2. The proportion of available iodide transferred into the oocytes appeared to be more dependent on the amount of iodide injected and the total weight of growing oocytes than on a requirement for either a store of iodide for the embryo or an iodide excretory pathway for the hen. 3. The thyroid was about four times more active in accumulating iodide than the oocyte. 4. The percentage of iodide accumulated by the plasma was the same at all dose rates.