Increased deposition of uranium in the bones of vitellogenic male Japanese quail. Effect of estradiol-17 beta on the distribution of uranium (VI), thorium (IV), gadolinium (III), and calcium (II).

Japanese quail were given, intramuscularly, either 16-mumol estradiol-17 beta (E2) in .25-ml ethanol solution/100 g body weight or .25 ml ethanol/100 g. Four days later, these quail were given, intravenously, 1.5-mumol UO2(NO3)2, Th(NO3)4, GdCl3 (153Gd-labeled) or CaCl2 (47Ca-labeled)/.15 ml .03 N HCl solution/100 g. The distribution of uranium among selected tissues was markedly different than for thorium or gadolinium and was approximately the same as for calcium. For example, 18 hr after giving the metal ions to the quail, the mean uranium content of the femora + tibiotarsi of E2-treated males was 15.4 +/- 1.3% (SE; n = 12) vs. 3.07 +/- .59% (12; P less than .001) for the control males. Similarly, 18 hr after giving calcium, the femora + tibiotarsi of E2-treated males had accumulated 20.8 +/- 1.5% (4) of the label vs. 9.94 +/- .46% (4; P less than .001) for controls. The livers of E2-treated males had 41.9 +/- 8.5% (4) of the thorium by 18 hr vs. 90.9 +/- 7.1% (4; P less than .01) for the controls, or 34.3 +/- 3.1% (8) of the gadolinium vs. 68.9 +/- 3.4% (8; P less than .001) for controls. The 18-hr accumulation of calcium in the femora + tibiotarsi of the E2-treated females was 18.0 +/- 1.1% (4) vs. 10.7 +/- 1.9% (4; P less than .05) for the controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)