STUDIES ON THE THYROIDAL ACCUMULATION OF RHENIUM IN THE RAT1

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Abstract
Radioactive rhenium Re 188 was found to be selectively accumulated by the rat thyroid gland, but to a lesser extent than I131. The shape and magnitude of the Re 188 accumulation curve resembled the shape and magnitude of thiouracil blocked I131 curve. This was interpretated as evidence that Re 188 was not organically bound, and this was confirmed by the observation that no Re 188 was found in the protein fraction of the thyroid gland. KSCN lowered the thyroidal accumulation of Re 188 and this was thought to mean that the thyroid gland trapped Re 188 as an anion. The magnitude of the iodide trap was approximately the same as the amount of Re 188 found in the gland. It was suggested that thiouracil enhanced the trap of Re 188 and that this was sufficient to explain the increased thyroidal accumulation of Re 188 that was observed with goitrogen treatment. The reports that the thyroid gland has the capacity to accumulate elements other than I were discussed and it was concluded that the evidence to date suggests that, although the thyroid gland may possess the capacity to accumulate elements other than I, it seems likely that the thyroid gland does not bind these elements in a fashion comparable to the organic binding of I.