NEUTRON EFFECTS ON ANIMALS 125 



In view of evidence presented by a number of workers that the 7-globuUn 

 of plasma originates in lymphocytes (14-17), a diminished white cell pro- 

 duction might be expected to result in a lowered 7-globulin concentration 

 in the plasma. Since the lymphocytes comprise as much as 30 to 50 per 

 cent of the total white cells of rabbit blood (18), the actual drop in total 

 white cell count, as indicated in Table IL is sufficiently great to require a 

 marked diminution also in the lymphocyte fraction of the total count. 



Had neutron irradiation caused a drop in white cell count by the breaking 

 down of lymphocytes, an increase in plasma 7-globulin m.ight reasonably 

 have been expected (19). The fact that a decrease in 7-globulin resuhed 

 from irradiation suggests that the source of the globulin, namely, the 

 lymphocytes themselves, was first affected, presumably by a diminished 

 activity of lymphoid tissue, and that this brought about the observed 

 diminution in 7-globulin content. 



Additional and more profound departures from normal protein distribu- 

 tion were observed after sickness had overtaken those rabbits given neutron 

 irradiation insufficient to cause death shortly after the irradiation ceased 

 but sufficient to bring about eventual death. Thus, depletion in albumin 

 together ^\ith increase in the proportion of the globulins and of filjrinogen 

 was observed to be concomitant with decided loss in health of the animals. 

 These later changes may have been associated with infection or with 

 destruction of tissues of the liver, kidney, or other organs, as suggested by 

 their similarity to changes which have been demonstrated by electrophoresis 

 to occur in the plasma of humans with various diseases (20-27). The 

 changes also resembled those obtained by electrophoresis experiments for 

 protein-depleted dogs (28), suggesting that the malnutrition which resulted 

 from loss of appetite after irradiation may have been a complicating factor. 

 Consequently, an unequivocal interpretation of the effects of neutron 

 irradiation as shown by the electrophoresis diagrams is not possible without 

 further investigatiorr. 



SUMMARY 



Electrophoresis studies have been made on plasma during and after 

 neutron irradiation of rabbits. Comparisons were made of the effect of 

 different irradiation procedures on plasma protein distribution. 



Collateral studies were m.ade of the changes in white blood cell count 

 brought about by irradiation in order to relate the health of the animal 

 after ii-radiation to an easily detected biological response. 



The initial effect of the irradiation procedirres used was a decrease in 

 the 7-globulin concentration of the blood plasma, which paralleled roughly 

 a simultaneous decrease in white cell count. For animals given large 

 amounts of neutron irradiation in small doses the return to ncrmal of th.e 



