STUDIES OF THE BONE-MARROW MORPHOLOGY AND OF SEVERAL LABORATORY PARAMETERS OF HEMOLYSIS IN GROWING RATS WITH ALIMENTARY PB-DEFICIENCY

The effects of an alimentary lead deficiency on bone marrow morphology and several laboratory parameters of hemolysis were examined in two g rowth- and one generation-experiments with female Sprague Dawley rats. The animals were fed a semisynthetic casein-based diet supplemented w ith 0 ppb up to 800 ppb lead as Pb-II-acetat-3-hydrate. The evaluation of the bone marrow did not show differences among the groups with dif ferent lead supply in the diet. Concerning the laboratory parameters o f hemolysis it has been shown that the hemoglobin concentration of pla sma and the lactate-dehydrogenase activity of serum were increased and the haptoglobin concentration of serum was decreased in the groups fe d the diets poor in lead relative to lead-adequate animals. The activi ty of glutathione peroxidase and the glutathione concentration in red blood cells were increased in the groups fed the lead-deficient diet c ompared to lead-adequate groups. In conclusion, the study shows that t he pancytopenia observed recently in lead-deficient rats is not caused by disturbed hematopoesis, whereas some parameters measured suggest t hat there exists increased hemolysis in lead-deficient rats.