Altered distribution of 109cadmium in mice during viral infection.
The distribution of the toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd) was studied in Coxsackie virus B3 (CB3)-infected Balb/c mice by whole-body autoradiography and gamma-counting. The distribution of 109Cd was studied 4 days post CB3-inoculation and 10 min after intravenous injection of 0.21 microgram of Cd/kg body weight. Whole-body autoradiography results showed that the distribution of 109Cd is greatly changed during this viral infection. This newly discovered distribution was mainly visible as a greatly increased accumulation in the renal and adrenal cortices. After impulse counting of selected organs it was found that the normal accumulation of 109Cd in the kidneys (184,354 +/- 30,961 c.p.m.) was increased by 47% (P less than 0.05) during CB3 infection (270,503 +/- 54,780 c.p.m.). In contrast to healthy animals, some infected mice showed accumulation of 109Cd in the spleen. These results show for the first time that an invading micro-organism can change the distribution of an environmental pollutant.
Ilbäck
N G
NG
Toxicology Laboratory, National Food Administration, Uppsala, Sweden.
Fohlman
J
J
Friman
G
G
Glynn
A W
AW
D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002106:Cadmium Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D003384:Coxsackievirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D002106:Cadmium Radioisotopes