Protection by Dietary Fat Afforded Serum γ1-Globulin of X-Irradiated Rats

Abstract

A study was made to determine the influence of dietary fat or methyl linoleate on the response of the serum proteins of the rat to X-irradiation. Electrophoretic studies showed that X-irradiation caused a substantial decrease in the concentration of γ₁-globulin in the serum of rats fed a fat-deficient diet. This change did not occur in rats that had been fed the fat-free diet plus a daily supplement of methyl linoleate or a diet containing 15% cottonseed oil. The similar body weights of the linoleate-supplemented rats and the fat-deficient rats demonstrated that the protective effect of dietary fat was not due simply to a mechanical shielding of the blood-forming organs by a fatty layer. It is suggested that the protection against X-ray afforded by dietary linoleate or fat may be due to protection of the antibody-forming system.