Publication: In vivo cellular uptake of bismuth ions from shotgun pellets
Authors
Stoltenberg, M. ; Locht, L. ; Larsen, Agnete ; Jensen, D.
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Publisher
Murcia : F. Hernández
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Shotgun pellets containing bismuth (Bi) are
widely used and may cause a rather intense exposure of
some wild animals to Bi. A Bi shotgun pellet was
implanted intramuscularly in the triceps surae muscle of
18 adult male Wistar rats. Another group of 9 animals
had a Bi shotgun pellet implanted intracranially in the
neocortex. Eight weeks to 12 months later the release of
Bi ions was analysed by autometallography (AMG) of
tissue sections from different organs (brain, spinal cord,
kidney, liver, testes). In the group with intramuscular Bi
shotgun pellets no AMG staining could be found for the
first 2-4 months; 6 months after exposure Bi was traced
in the kidney. Twelve months after the implantation the
kidneys were heavily loaded and Bi was also traced in
testosterone-producing Leydig cells, in glial cells and in
neurons of brain and spinal cord. In the central nervous
system (CNS) motor neurons were the most loaded. In
rats with intracranially implanted shotgun pellets a
massive uptake of Bi was observed involving both glia
and neurons throughout the brain. The cells close to the
shotgun pellet had the highest uptake. The animals
showed a pronounced Bi uptake in the ependyma cells
lining the ventricular system and in the cubic epithelia
covering the choroid plexus. Dissemination of Bi ions to
the rest of the body was demonstrated by AMG tracing
of Bi accumulations in the tubular cells of the kidney.
These findings emphasize that metallic Bi, including shotgun pellets, represents sites of intense Bi pollution if
implanted or shot into a living organism, and further that
such metallic Bi bodies, if they enter the CNS, cause a
spread of Bi ions throughout it.
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