Acute lead encephalopathy in the suckling rat: a study of isolated capillaries

Journal Article · Mon Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1977 · Am. J. Pathol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7103763

Krigman, M R; Mushak, P; Hayward, J C; Toews, A D; Morell, P

Acute lead encephalopathy was produced in neonatal Long-Evans rats. Five day-old pups were tube fed 1000 ..mu..g lead/g body weight/day and were sacrificed after either 2 or 18 days of intoxication. Capillaries were isolated from brains of intoxicated animals and age-matched controls. The isolation procedure combined homogenization, screening, and differential centrifugation on a discontinuous sucrose gradient. Lead levels were determined by atomic absorption in blood, whole brain, and capillary-enriched fractions. Pups intoxicated for 2 days showed brain hemorrhages and cerebral edema. The isolated capillaries were fragil, thick, distorted structures. Blood and brain lead levels were elevated, and the concentration of lead (in micrograms Pb per milligram protein) in the capillary-enriched fractions was greater than in the whole brain. Pups intoxicated for 18 days had elevated levels of lead in blood and brain, comparable with the younger pups, but no acute cerebral hemorrhages or edema. Capillaries isolated from intoxicated pups were morphologically indistinguishable from the matched controls, but the lead concentration was still elevated in the capillary fractions. Cerebral capillaries in suckling rats are vulnerable to acute high doses of lead. However, in light of the transient nature of the vasculopathy, endothelial cells develop compensatory metabolic processes in the presence of continuous lead burden.

• Research Organization: Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• OSTI ID: 7103763
• Journal Information: Am. J. Pathol.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. J. Pathol.; (United States) Vol. 86:2; ISSN AJPAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550900 -- Pathology
560305* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD VESSELS
BODY
BODY BURDEN
BODY FLUIDS
BRAIN
CAPILLARIES
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
DISEASES
ELEMENTS
ENDOTHELIUM
LEAD
MAMMALS
METABOLISM
METALS
NEONATES
NERVOUS SYSTEM
ORGANS
RATS
RODENTS
TIME DEPENDENCE
TISSUES
TOXICITY
VERTEBRATES