Unique behavior of rubidium in mice under low oxygen atmosphere. Simultaneous tracing of Sc, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Se, Rb,...

Relative tissue distributions of Sc, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Se, Rb, Y, and Zr tracers were studied in young mice housed under four different O2 atmospheres (10 percent, 20 percent, 80 percent, and 100 percent O2) using the radioactive multitracer technique developed at The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN). At 48 hr after injection of the multitracer, the tissue uptake rates were examined for 10 tissues (brain, cardiac muscle, lung, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, skeletal muscle, bone, and blood) and expressed as the radioactivity percentage of the injected dose per gram of wet tissue (percent dose/g). Rubidium uptake rates for all soft tissues of mice housed under a 10 percent O2 atmosphere were found to be higher than those of the tissues of mice housed under the other three O2 atmospheres (20 percent, 80 percent, and 100 percent), but no difference was observed for the other elements (Sc, Mn, Fe, Co, Se, etc.) under any of the O2 atmospheres.