Some Effects of Tritiated Thymidine as a Deoxyribonucleic Acid Label in the Rat Liver

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Abstract
A labeling dose of tritiated thymidine (approximately 2 [mu]c/gm body weight) produces changes in the ploidy classes of the liver cell nuclei of the 3-week-old rat within 24 hours. Two weeks after administration the ploidy classes are changed further and are similar to those of the 2-year-old control. Histological evidence of cellular injury is limited to cytoplasmic vacuolization and reduction of RNA during the first 2 days after tritiated-thymidine. Radiation resistance develops in the liver within 2 weeks after the initial exposure. The ploidy changes represent an early stage in the spectrum of alterations after irradiation, and their study offers a useful method in the investigation of the effects or radiation on cells. In the use of radioactive labeling materials for metabolic studies, the internal radiation so introduced may alter the biological system under investigation.