Abstract
Summary
Total phospholipid phosphorus, lecithin V, and cephalin P of bone marrow, but not of liver, were markedly decreased in rats 4 days after total-body irradiation. Experiments measuring the incorporation of palmitic-1-14C and oleic-l-14C acids into various phospholipids of blood serum, liver, and femoral bone marrow of normal and irradiated rats revealed that the lecithin was the major phospholipid incorporating radioactivity in all tissues. Total-body irradiation did not appear to exert any appreciable effect on the specific activities of these phospholipids in any of the tissues studied. Although radioactivity distribution studies showed little change in liver and serum, radiation significantly decreased the amounts of both palmitic-1-14C and oleic-l-14C acids incorporated into bone-marrow phospholipids. The data are explained on the basis of changes in the marrow-cell population occurring after irradiation.
The authors express thanks to Mrs. Anita Moehl for technical assistance.
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