The Effect of Whole-Body X-Irradiation on an Alpha-Globulin Component in the Serum of C 3 H f /HeHa Mice

Abstract

Exposure of C3HfHeHa strain mice to a single dose of 950 rads of whole-body X-irradiation resulted in a striking enhancement, after approximately 3 days, of a non-lipid serum protein with an electrophoretic mobility characteristic of an a-globulin. This serum component remained elevated for a period of 10 months in irradiated mice protected by the injection of isologous bone marrow cells. A qualitatively similar pattern was obtained after the administration of nitrogen mustard but not after cortisone. Preliminary experiments suggest that the increase in this serum globulin is not the consequence of "nonspecific stress", nor can its appearance be entirely accounted for on the basis of cellular destruction in the period immediately following X-irradiation.