[Radiation-induced disorders of steroid-metabolizing function of the liver]

A study was made of metabolic derangement of exogenous cortisol in isolated perfused liver of irradiated rats. The animals were exposed to x-radiation at doses of 2, 4, 8, 10 and 12 Gy. A 72 h irradiation was followed by decapitation and perfusion of the liver with cortisol. Cortisol and its metabolites in a perfusion medium were determined by thin-layer chromatography. Irradiation at the doses of 2 and 4 Gy resulted in no noticeable changes of steroid-metabolizing liver function. At the lethal doses of 8, 10 and 12 Gy cortisol absorption by the liver was gradually decreased and accompanied by accumulation in the perfusion medium of excessive amounts (as compared to control) of tetrahydrocortisone, cortisone, and unidentified metabolites that may be associated with disorder of their conversion at subsequent stages of metabolism. A method of selective extraction of varied polarity fractions of hydrocortisone metabolites from a perfusate has also shown that irradiation inhibits transformation of steroids into more polar compounds.