early effects of ionizing radiation on rat skeletal muscle

ABSTRACT

The early effects of ionizing radiation at 1, 6, 24 and 48 hours following exposure have been studied in the rat skeletal muscle. Whole body exposure of male albino rats to a single dose of [600 rad] gamma-radiation resulted in significant increase in total lipids, triglycerides and glycogen contents of the skeletal muscle, while the total protein content was significantly decreased. The electrolytes of the skeletal muscle showed variable changes Sodium, calcium, magnesium and chloride were significantly increased after different intervals of irradiation, potassium was significantly decreased, while the inorganic phosphorus did not show any significant change. Irradiation also resulted in significant decrease in activities of sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase [Na+ - K+-ATPase] and cholinesterase enzymes of the skeletal muscle, while creatine phosphokinase enzyme [CPK] was significantly increased. It is concluded that ionizing radiations cause damage to the cell membranes which leads to increased lipogenesis, modifications of enzyme activities and altered permeability