The uptake of 111In in the liver and bone marrow of partially hepatectomized and venesectioned rats

Indium-111 (111In) has a strong binding affinity for transferrin (Tf), and the 111In–Tf complex binds to Tf receptor in various tissues. In partial hepatectomy (PH), a part of blood in circulation is lost along with removed liver tissues; consequently, the number of blood cells and the amount of Tf in circulation decreases. These decreases should greatly affect the uptake of 111In in the liver and bone marrow. In order to investigate this effect, we compared the uptake in partially hepatectomized rats with that in venesectioned rats, in which only the volume of blood in circulation had been decreased. Our data show that fewer blood cells and smaller amount of Tf in circulation due to venesection increased the uptake of 111In in bone marrow, but not in the liver, whereas PH increased the uptake of 111In in both bone marrow and liver. The higher bone marrow uptake of 111In must be related to the increase of the hematopoietic function resulted from the smaller amount of blood; the higher uptake in liver may be closely related to liver regeneration.