STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF IRRADIATION OF CELLULAR PARTICULATES. IV. THE TIME SEQUENCE OF PHOSPHORYLATION CHANGES IN VIVO

¹ Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, Mass.

White male rats of the Sprague-Dawley and Wistar strains were exposed to 800 r total-body and partial-body -radiation. Estimates of the damage to the oxidative phosphorylation mechanism of spleen, liver and testis of the Sprague-Dawley rats and of the spleen of Wistar rats were made. Similarly, changes in the histology of the spleen follicles were followed, as well as alterations in the circulating lymphocyte population. In general, there seems to be no indication of an initial resistance to radiation; however, there are obvious differences in the recovery rate between the strains and between the total-body and partial-body irradiated animals. Changes in oxidative phosphorylation closely parallel the histological changes and thus can be used as a rapid technique for accessing indirect damage. The data suggest that "radiation resistance" is more a matter of recovery rate than of initial resistance.