Elemental imaging of kidneys of adult rats exposed to uranium acetate

Concern about the toxicity of depleted uranium for military use has increased recently. Renal toxicity is the hallmark effect of uranium exposure. However, the dynamics and distribution of uranium in the kidney are not well understood. Here, we determined the precise distribution of uranium and essential elements in the rat kidney using microbeam scanning particle-induced X-ray emission (micro-PIXE) and synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF).Uranium accumulation in the rat kidney reached a maximum at 1 day after the subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of 2 mg U/kg of uranium acetate and then gradually decreased. At 3 h after administration, uranium was distributed mainly in the proximal tubules of the inner zone of the cortex and in the outer stripe of the outer medulla, and absorbed by the proximal tubule epithelium. Iron was localized more in the inside of the outer medulla than uranium, while phosphorus, potassium, sulfur and zinc were equally distributed in the cortex and the outer stripe of the outer medulla. At 3 days after administration, the number of apoptotic cells increased and cells were lost from the proximal tubules. Uranium was detectable mainly in the outer stripe of the outer medulla at 15 days, suggesting that the renal distribution of uranium is site-selective and causes site-specific renal lesions.