Distribution and Degradation of Sublethal Doses of I 125 Labeled Endotoxin from Salmonella enteritidis in Mice ∗

Abstract

Summary

The distribution of radioactivity after injection of endotoxin labeled with ⁵¹Cr and ¹²⁵I was quite different. The ⁵¹Cr, labeling chiefly the core polysaccharide, was retained by the liver while ¹²⁵I, labeling chiefly lipid A, was rapidly excreted by the kidney, stomach, and salivary glands probably as free iodide. Stomach slices, but not liver or spleen slices, split ¹²⁵I from labeled endotoxin in vitro suggesting that the stomach may play a role in endotoxin degradation. The radioactivity of ¹²⁵I labeled endotoxin was excreted more rapidly by immunized than nonimmunized animals.