QUANTITATIVE WHOLE-BODY AUTORADIOGRAPHIC DISPOSITION OF GLYCOL ETHER IN MICE - EFFECT OF ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION

Glycol ethers such as ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) are comm on solvents used in many industrial products. A large number of indivi duals are exposed to EGME through different exposure routes. We invest igated the differential distribution of EGME following various routes of administration using whole body autoradiographic (WBA) techniques. Male B6C3F1 mice were treated with tracer iv or oral doses of [2-C-14] EGME (4.05 mu g EGME/kg equivalent to 0.8 mCi/kg) and euthanized at 1 and 24 hr following treatment. In both groups of animals the highest l evels of radioactivity were detected in the liver, urinary bladder, bo ne marrow, kidney, and epididymis, at 1- and 24-hr time periods. Compu ter-assisted quantitation of WBA indicated that there was markedly hig her deposition of [2-C-14]EGME and/or its metabolites in various tissu es of the orally treated animals than in animals treated intravenously . Our studies also suggest that [2-C-14]EGME is rapidly distributed ei ther from blood or stomach to various tissues. Preferential deposition of radioactivity in the peripheral tissues of the bone, with a progre ssive inward accumulation in the bone marrow, was observed. Selective permeability of EGME and/or its metabolites was indicated by the highe r uptake by the epididymis than that by testis. The high levels of rad ioactivity in biosynthetically active tissues, e.g., the liver, bone m arrow, and gastric mucosa, is an indication of persistent interaction of the compound with cellular components of these tissues. These inter actions may lead to EGME toxicity. (C) 1994 Society of Toxicology.