Organ sequestration of 65Zn during experimental sepsis

Alteration in the metabolism of zinc during infections has been reported. We have studied the redistribution of endogenous zinc by making the animals physiologically stable by daily intra-gastric administration of 65Zn prior to the induction of sepsis. Organ uptake of exogenous zinc was studied by investigating the organ uptake of 65Zn after an intravenous injection during sepsis. Male Sprague-Dawley rats, were kept in metabolic cages to monitor the excretion of the radioisotope. They were made septic using a gelatine capsule containing E. coli, Bacteroides fragilis in a standardised mixture with sterile rat faeces and barium sulphate, implanted into the abdomen. The plasma radioactivity in the septic state was significantly lower when compared to control rats. In the septic state, there was an increased uptake of endogenous zinc after oral administration of radioactive zinc in the liver, pancreas, large intestine and testes. When administered intravenously in septic animals we found a decreased uptake of exogenous zinc in the pancreas, large intestine, small intestine, bone and testes. Thus the distribution of endogenous and exogenous zinc seems to differ during the septic state.