Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo (Jun 1989)

Labeling of Salmonella Typhymurium with iodine-131 to study phagocytic function in rats

  • Maria K. Sato,
  • Aldo J. Rodrigues Junior,
  • Edwaldo E. Camargo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651989000300001
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 3
pp. 135 – 138

Abstract

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The present study describes a method for labeling Salmonella typhymurium with iodine-131 to evaluate both the morphological and the functional characteristics of the reticulo-endothelial system. A suspension containing 2 x 10(9) bacteria per ml was labeled with carrier-free Na131I without reductor, with a labeling yield of 46.5 ± 3% and 3.5 ± 1.3% of free Iodine-131. The biodistribution of the labeled bacteria in rats was studied with a large field-of-view scintillation camera equiped with a pinhole collimator. Whole body images were obtained 15 and 30 minutes after intravenous injection of the labeled microorganisms. Images showed accumulation of bacteria in the liver and both normal and transplanted spleens of the animals. Autoradiographs of liver and spleen demonstrated labeled bacteria within the cells of the reticulo-endothelial system. The method described is easy to perform, has a good labeling yield and allows the functional evaluation of the reticulo-monophagocytic system, including transplanted spleens.

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