TRACE-ELEMENT ALTERATIONS IN RAT-TISSUES INDUCE BY THE HEPATOTOXIC AGENT CCL4

An acute or chronic intoxication by i.p. injection of CCl4 was used to induce liver injuries (liver necrosis, steatosis and cirrhosis) in ra ts. Liver, kidneys and blood serum were collected from the experimenta l animals and from controls. The tissues were analyzed by particle-ind uced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) for up to 12 elements (i.e., K, Ca , Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr and Mo). The acute intoxication ( leading to necrosis and steatosis) caused definite alterations of many trace element levels. The alterations were most pronounced in the liv er, as expected. In this organ, Ca exhibited a strongly increased conc entration. Important alterations for the elements K, Zn and Se were al so observed.