title: Lead levels in bone and hair of rats treated with lead acetate.
abstract: The use of hair and bone as media in evaluation of lead exposure was investigated in this study. For 12-16 wk rats were given tap water containing lead acetate in the following concentrations: 41.7 mg Pb/L, 83.3 mg Pb/L, and 166.6 mg Pb/L. The animals were sacrificed every 4 wk and their tibia bones and hair were collected for determination of lead content. In control animals, the lead level amounted to 1.2 micrograms/g (range 0.8-1.3 micrograms/g) and 0.7 microgram/g (range 0.4-2.0 micrograms/g) in bone and hair, respectively. In the treated rats the accumulation of lead in bone and hair occurred in a dose-dependent manner. A positive correlation (r = 0.876) was established between the lead levels in bone and hair of the rats. The regression equation was as follows: microgram Pb/g bone = 0.842 x microgram Pb/g hair + 1.868. After discontinuation of exposure, a significant decrease in the lead content in bone and hair was noticed. About 9 wk after cessation of treatment, the lead content in hair declined to the pre-exposure level, but 64% of the maximal lead concentration did remain in bone. The results of this study indicate that during a continuous exposure the lead level in hair reflects its content in bone. Such phenomena did not occur during the post-exposure period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hać
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krechniak
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006197:Hair / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007854:Lead / Q000378:metabolism*; D007855:Lead Poisoning; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D007854:Lead; C008261:lead acetate