REGIONAL UTILIZATION OF LEUCINE-H3 BY NORMAL RAT BRAIN: MICRODENSITOMETRIC EVALUATION OF AUTORADIOGRAMS

Abstract

Fine-resolution autoradiography was used to study the regional uptake of intraperitoneally administered leucine-H³ in the rat brain. Microdensitometric measurements were made of the differential rates of autoradiographic blackening over different brain regions, and low- and high-power photomicrographs were prepared of some representative sections of the neuraxis. Evidence of satisfactory consistency in regional density scores was obtained by comparing the grain density of several bilateral structures on the right and left side in single sections, and of homologous structures in different sections. It was concluded that fine-resolution autoradiography is a suitable technique for studying alterations in protein metabolism of homologous brain structures as a consequence of pathological changes in the brain and possible shifts due to physiological and behavioral manipulation of experimental animals.