title: Alpha-particle irradiation of haemopoietic tissue in pre- and postnatal mice. 1: Distribution of plutonium-239 after mid-term contamination.
abstract: Pregnant mice (at 13 days gestation) and age-matched controls were injected with 30 kBq 239Pu/kg and the distribution of plutonium in maternal and foetal tissues measured. Approximately 2% of the activity injected into the mother reached each foetus in 24 h, 95% of which was contained in membranes and placenta. The concentration of plutonium in foetal liver was 3 times the average foetal body concentration; both liver and body concentrations in the foetus increased by the end of gestation. Each pup accumulated only 0.01% extra injected activity after 9 days lactation and, as the resulting concentrations in the neonatal skeleton were low, we conclude that the greatest haemopoietic risk to the offspring from mid-term contamination in utero is in the foetal liver (which received an average dose of 10-14 mGy between the time of mid-term contamination and birth). By the end of gestation about one-quarter of the original activity was transferred to foetal tissues from the maternal liver and skeleton. No significant changes in maternal distribution were detected as a result of lactation. The results of this study are discussed, along with a compilation of previously published data.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Campaign Department of Experimental Haematology, Peterson Institute for Cancer Research, Withington, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007774:Lactation / Q000378:metabolism*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011005:Plutonium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D011005:Plutonium