Identification of transferrin as the main binding site for protactinium in rat blood serum

The distribution of 233Pa in rat serum at periods between 5 and 50 min after i.v. injection of a solution of protactinium chloride was studied by gel chromatography. Sequential analysis of sera on Sephacryl S-300 and DEAE-Sephadex showed that 233Pa was associated only with the transferrin fraction of the serum proteins. This finding was confirmed by iso-electric focusing electrophoresis. In the cytosol fractions prepared from the liver and kidneys of the 233Pa injected rats the nuclide was also shown to be protein bound.