Development of serum zinc as a biological dosimeter in mice.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a new biological dosimeter based on serum zinc concentration.


METHODS
Male mice (8 weeks old) were exposed to different doses (0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, or 8.0 Gy) of gamma rays from a (60)Co source. Blood was then collected from the orbital area of these mice, and the serum zinc concentration was detected using the 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol colorimetric method. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance.


RESULTS
The serum zinc concentration in the irradiated mice decreased with increasing dose. Two dose-response relationships fitted to the linear quadratic curve were obtained: One immediately after exposure (y = 0.010x(2) - 0.133x + 0.663, r = 0.983) and the other on the seventh day after exposure (y = 0.008x(2) - 0.127x + 0.695, r = 0.990). The serum zinc concentration continued to decrease until 21 days after exposure. The absorbed doses estimated using both dose-response relationships were close to the actual doses.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum zinc is a quick, effective, and sensitive biomarker for early biological doses assessment of mice irradiated by gamma radiation.
Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics , Nanjing , P. R. China.
Xuan-Yu
XY
Min
Xiao-Hong
XH
Zhang
Qi-Pu
QP
Zhou
Xiao-Dan
XD
Hu
Pei-Dang
PD
Liu
Hai-Qian
HQ
Zhang
D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001822:Body Burden; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008954:Models, Biological; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014915:Whole-Body Counting / Q000379:methods*; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D015032:Zinc
Biological dosimeter; gamma radiation; mice; serum zinc