Absorption from Intestinal Lumen into Blood and Lymph of DNA and DNA Degradation Products from H³-Thymidine Labeled Lymphocytes

Abstract

H³-thymidine labeled lymphocytes from thymus and from lymph nodes of donor rats were washed and injected into the intestine of recipient rats. Measurements were made on radioactive fraction in portal vein serum and in thoracic duct lymph plasma at various times after injection. The DNA-H3 was detected in blood serum and in lymph plasma. Absorption of the labeled materials at nucleoside and nucleotide levels occurred simultaneously. These results suggest that lymphocytes which, under physiological conditions, migrate into the gut can serve as a source of material for synthesis of new DNA after digestion within it.