Toxicokinetics of lead in lactating and nonlactating mice

Toxicokinetics of lead in lactating and nonlactating mice were studied after a single intravenous injection of 0.05 mg of lead (2.5 mCi 203Pb)/kg. Lead concentrations in blood, plasma, and milk were measured for 10 days following dosing. The volume of distribution based on plasma lead was more than two times larger in lactating than in nonlactating mice, 133 and 58 liter/kg, respectively. Plasma lead clearance in lactating mice was 4.25 liter/hr/kg compared with 1.07 liter/hr/kg in nonlactating mice. However, no such pronounced difference in blood lead clearance was found between the two groups, indicating that this parameter does not reveal the kinetic characteristics during lactation. Milk was found to be an additional route of excretion for lead. About 1/3 of the administered dose of lead was excreted in milk. Accordingly, milk clearance contributed to 1/3 of the total plasma clearance in the mice. The relationships of lead in plasma to lead in whole blood as well as lead in milk to lead in whole blood were nonlinear, with a relatively higher increase in plasma and in milk lead levels at higher blood lead levels. This nonlinearity may be explained by a reduced uptake of lead in erythrocytes as the lead binding sites of these cells become saturated. In lactating mice, the maximum binding capacity of lead in red blood cells was even lower than in nonlactating mice. Similar nonlinear relationship have have also been found in human studies although at much higher levels of lead in blood. The milk:plasma concentration ratio for lead was found to be between 50 and 100 after 24 hr, demonstrating a much more efficient excretion of lead into milk than what is known from human studies. Differences in the milk composition may be one explanation for the species differences in milk excretion of lead. The present study shows that physiological changes during lactation alter the pharmacokinetics of lead in mice.