Incorporation of 32P/sub i/ and other radioactive precursors into Lecithin of brain slices of triton WR-1339 injected rats

SummaryYoung rats (14-20 days old) were injected intraperitoneally with Triton WR-1339 (500 mg/kg body wt.) and at various time intervals they were sacrificed, brain slices prepared then incubated in Krebs-Ringer buffer containing either 32Pi, [14C] choline or [14C]glyceral. The specific radioactivities of lecithin in brain slices from the Triton injected rats were found to be 131%-385% as high as those of the controls. Maximal 32Pi-incorporation into lecithin occurred 8 hr following the administration of the detergent. Formation of lactate was the same in both of the control and Tritonized slices, and no effect of Triton WR-1339 on 32Pi-incorporation into lecithin of brain slices was observed in vitro. The level of serum cholesterol increased by more than 200% in the 24 hr Tritonized rats. It was concluded that the brain, in addition to the liver, is an organ which responds to Triton administration.