Blood, 1959, Vol. 14, No. 10, pp. 1128-1136.
© 1959 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Some Factors Involved in the Effect of X-Irradiation on the
Phosphatase Activity of Hematopoietic Tissues
EDWIN M. UYEKI 1 and
PAUL R. SALERNO 1
1 Atomic Energy Medical Research Project, Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Factors which modify lymphoid distribution of tissues were found to modify
the adenosine triphosphatase activity of these tissues. Starvation or cortisone
injection, which produces destructive changes in lymphoid tissues, was found
to increase the enzyme activity of spleen and thymus tissues. The greater increment of enzyme activity of the thymus as compared to that of the spleen
was correlated with its normally higher content of lymphoid tissue.
The increase in adenosine triphosphatase activity of hematopoietic tissues
appears to be associated with the type of cells present in the assay medium.
With respect to peripheral blood leukocytes of the rat, the cell type is confined largely to lymphocytes and granulocytes. The increase in adenosine
triphosphatase activity of the leukocytes after total-body x-ray was seen to
parallel the increase in granulocytes present in the assay medium. The ratio
of granulocytes to lymphocytes is not appreciably altered in dog peripheral
blood after exposure to total-body x-ray; the adenosine triphosphatase activity
similarly was not significantly altered. After total-body x-ray (390 r and 780 r),
cells isolated from the rat bone marrow displayed a fivefold increase in
adenosine triphosphatase activity. This increase was seen to correspond with
an increase in the ratio of segmented leukocytes and reticuloendothelial cells
and a decrease in the immature forms of the erythroid and myeloid cells.
The heterogeneous cell mixtures used for our assay procedures permit the
observation that total-body x-irradiation results in an increased enzyme activity
of the isolated cells of the peripheral blood, bone marrow and spleen tissue of
the rat. The increased enzyme activity was associated with the increased ratio
of cells with high enzyme activity present in the assay medium.
Submitted on September 22, 1958
Accepted on November 27, 1958
