Alterations in tissue lipids of rats subjected to whole-body X-irradiation.

Whole-body irradiation of rats at sublethal doses leads to hepatic lipid accumulation which reaches a maximum by the sixth day; this effect on lipid metabolism does not appear to be due to accompanying inanition but due to irradiation per se. The female rats show a greater and more consistent increase in liver lipids than males and this better response of the females is not abolished by prolonged administration of testosterone to these animals. An accumulation of triglycerides accounts for almost all the increases in total liver lipids, although smaller elevations in the levels of free fatty acids and cholesterol are also seen. Free fatty acids of liver show a marked decrease on the second day following irradiation. Serum lipids do not show any appreciable changes while adipose lipids progressively decrease reaching a minimum by the sixth day. Although an insufficiency of ATP may be responsible for lipid accumulation in the irradiated rat as is the case in rats treated with ethionine or orotic acid, adenine administration, which prevents fatty infiltration due to these chemical agents, does not protect against the radiation-induced increase in liver triglycerides.