Albumin Loss and Faecal Excretion of Polyvinylpyrrolidone in X-irradiated Mice with Implanted Rat Bone-marrow

Summary

Protein-loss in x-irradiated mice implanted with rat bone-marrow was studied, using ¹³¹I-labelled human-serum albumin, and gastro-intestinal loss of macromolecules was studied, using the enzyme-resisting macromolecule ¹³¹I-labelled polyvinylpyrrolidone. Comparisons were made with normal control mice and with irradiated mice treated with isologous bone-marrow. An increase in the fractional rate of loss of serum albumin occurred in the rat-marrow-injected mice in the second week after treatment and in some animals persisted at least 10 weeks; liver hypertrophy was also observed. Faecal excretion of labelled polyvinylpyrrolidone was generally greatest in the mice treated with rat marrow, suggesting that in these mice the wall of the gastro-intestinal tract is abnormally permeable to macro-molecules.