Accumulation of gold in various organs of mice injected with gold thioglucose.

The response of either male or female mice to the administration of gold thioglucose (GTG) was observed in food intake, in body and organ weights, and in gold accumulation in respective organs. Male mice were more sensitive to GTG toxicity than females. During 103 days after GTG administration, the adipose tissues of the females and males increased in weight 15 times and 2.5 times as high as those of control mice, respectively. The weights of heart, lung, and brain were not affected by GTG administration. In the respective organs, gold concentrations, which were determined by neutron activation analysis, were high in liver, kidney, spleen, adrenal, and adipose tissue (especially in female) within a shorter time after the GTG injection. In various organs of nonobese mice, the concentrations of GTG were significantly less than those in the typical obese mice. Even after more than 100 days after injection, gold was detected in the respective organs. In the control mice without any GTG administration, no gold could be detected.