Stable isotope labeling of lead compartments in rats with ultralow lead concentrations

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Environmental Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-9351(05)80079-9· OSTI ID:7235898

Smith, D R; Flegal, A R ^[1]; Osterloh, J D ^[2]; Niemeyer, S ^[3]

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1. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz (United States)
2. Univ. of California, San Francisco (United States)
3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

The role of the mammalian skeleton as an endogenous lead source is unclear. This is due in part to difficulties in distinguishing mobilized skeletal lead from other endogenous and exogenous lead sources. Therefore, the authors have applied ultraclean stable lead isotope techniques to label skeletal and soft tissue lead compartments within the rat with distinguishable lead isotopic signatures. Female Wistar rats were fed {sup 206}Pd-enriched drinking water and sacrificed after durations of 2, 4, 7, and 14 days. Blood, kidney, vertebra, and tibia tissues were analyzed for lead concentrations and stable isotopic compositions. The resulting isotopic ratios in soft and skeletal tissues differed by {approximately}40% after 2 days exposure to the {sup 206}Pb tracer. More than 90% of the tracer isotopic signature was contained in the soft tissues after 10 days exposure, while skeletal tissues acquired only {approximately}50% of the tracer by the end of the study. Because these animals were maintained under trace metal-clean conditions, they contained lead concentrations in whole blood, kidney, and bone tissues that are the lowest known reported for contemporary terrestrial mammals, and they are comparable to levels in preindustrial mammals. The elevated concentrations of lead in kidney relative to levels in blood are consistent with the presence of specific lead-binding sites in the kidney at very low levels of exposure.

• OSTI ID: 7235898
• Journal Information: Environmental Research; (United States), Vol. 57:2; ISSN 0013-9351
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
LEAD
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
BODY BURDEN
ISOTOPE RATIO
LABELLING
LEAD 206
METABOLISM
RATS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
ANIMALS
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LEAD ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
METALS
NUCLEI
RODENTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology