Uptake and distribution of (/sup 3/H)benzo(a)pyrene in the Northern pike (Esox lucius). Examination by whole-body autoradiography and scintillation counting

Journal Article · Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984 · Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0041-008X(84)90296-5· OSTI ID:6303933

Balk, L; Meijer, J; DePierre, J W; Appelgren, L E

The uptake and distribution of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon benzo(a)pyrene in Northern pike (Esox lucius) were investigated by whole body autoradiography and scintillation counting. (/sup 3/H)Benzo(a)pyrene was administered either in the diet or in the water. The uptake and distribution of this compound and its metabolites were followed from 10 hr to 21 days after the initial exposure. The autoradiography patterns observed here with both routes of administration suggest, as expected, that benzo(a)pyrene is taken up through the gastrointestinal system and the gills, metabolized in the liver, and excreted in the urine and bile. Other findings indicate that the gills may not be a major route of excretion for benzo(a)pyrene and its metabolites in the Northern pike; that benzo(a)pyrene may be taken up from the water directly into the skin of this fish; that benzo(a)pyrene and its metabolites are heterogeneously distributed in the kidney of the Northern pike; and that very little radioactivity accumulates in the adipose tissue. With scintillation counting, uptake of radioactivity from the water was found to occur rapidly in all organs, reaching a plateau in most cases after about 0.8 days. The concentrations of radioactivity in different organs ranged between 50 (many organs) and 80,000 (gallbladder + bile) times that found in the surrounding water.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Stockholm, Sweden
• OSTI ID: 6303933
• Journal Information: Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.; (United States), Vol. 74:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BENZOPYRENE
METABOLISM
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
UPTAKE
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
AUTORADIOGRAPHY
BILE
FISHES
KIDNEYS
LIVER
SCINTILLATION COUNTING
SKIN
TRACER TECHNIQUES
URINE
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIOLOGICAL WASTES
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
CONDENSED AROMATICS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DISTRIBUTION
GLANDS
HYDROCARBONS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
MATERIALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
560305* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Vertebrates- (-1987)
550501 - Metabolism- Tracer Techniques