Radioisotopes such as 1 ~, Na2C#tO,, and Cr61C18 have been utilised for marking endotoxin in efforts to determine in ~ivo uptake and distribution of the latter material (3, 7-9, 11, 12, 14). These reports are in fair agreement conceming the quantitative distribution of the endotoxin as based on subsequent cotmting of plasma and organ samples. Until recently, evidence for the presence of endotoxin itself in tissues and fluids has been presumed on the basis of the following two observations; (a) differences in in ~/ro distribution of the free label as contrasted to that of the label bound to endotoxin and (b) the increased rate of plasma clearance of radioactivity in animals rendered tolerant to endotoxins. Current studies have shown that a correlation exists between the toxicity and the radioactivity present in plasma samples collected at various times after administration of a chromate-labded endotoxin (6). Furthermore, the presence of endotoxin in such plasma samples was demonstrated immunologically by means of ring test precipitation (5). However, evidence has been lacking that the endotoxin moiety per se bears the radioactive label either before injection or after recovery from the tissues and fluids of recipient animals. It is the purpose of this report to show that the labeling of endotoxin with hexavalent Cr 51 results in a specifically tagged product, a part of which retains both label and toxicity in circulating plasma for several hours after administration. Furthermore, it will be shown that endotoxin is demonstrable in urine but in a non-toxic and non-labeled state.
Materials and MethodsEndo~o~n.--The source of endotoxin was the Danysz strain of Salmonella entedtldls prepared by the method of Boivin (1). The product was labeled by incubating 100 mg with 1.5 me of Na¢C#IO4 (specific activity --73 mc/mg), during 48 hours according to a method of Brande, e~ al. (2). After labeling, the specific activity of the endotoxin was 1.5 #c/rag which