Chapter 13 



ELECTROPHORESIS OF BLOOD PLASMA OF 

 XEUTROX-IRRADLITED CHICKENS 



By LAURA E. KREJCI and LUCILE SWEENY 



A preliminary study was made of the effect of a single sublethal dose of 

 neutrons on the blood plasma of young chickens. The changes in plasma 

 protein composition were followed by means of the Tiselius electrophoresis 

 technique (1), and observations were continued for four months subsequent 

 to irradiation. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



Barred Rock chickens were used for the investigation. They were ob- 

 tained from the L'niversity of Delaware Agriculture Experiment Station 

 and were maintained on a diet of Purina Chick Growena and water ad 

 libitum. Three males, two at the age of 82 days, the third at the age of 

 103 days, were given a single neutron dose of 169 n (2). Two males, 104 

 days old, were used as controls without irradiation. The irradiated chick- 

 ens were bled for plasma and serum samples before irradiation and at in- 

 tervals of increasing length for four months afterwards; the control chickens 

 were bled at approximately the same intervals for a period of two months. 

 At the termination of the experiment all five were sacrificed and autopsied. 



Before each bleeding the chickens were deprived of food for 24 hours 

 to insure plasma and serum free from suspended fats. Ten ml. of blood 

 were drawn by cardiac puncture (3) ; 5 ml. were placed in a tube containing 

 0.5 mg. dry lithium oxalate as anticoagulant for use as plasma, and the 

 rest was converted to serum. Immediately after removal from the cells 

 and clot, the plasma and serum were diluted with three parts of a sodium 

 veronal-veronal buffer solution of pH 8.6 then dialyzed against two changes 

 of the same buffer solution in preparation for electrophoresis. 



A current of 27 ma was used during electrophoresis, and photographs 

 were taken by the Longsworth (4) and Svensson (5) methods for four 

 different periods of migration. Protein concentrations were computed 

 from area measurements made on enlarged tracings of the four Svensson 

 diagrams. These concentrations have been reported in terms of the re- 

 fractive increments, because the specific refractive increments required to 

 convert the values to grams per 100 ml. are not accurately known. The 

 electrophoresis diagrams were divided into the alpha, beta, and gamma 

 globulin fractions in the manner suggested by Sanders, Huddleson and 



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