STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF ACTH AND PREDNISOLON ON STARVED AND NORMAL RABBITS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO LEUCOCYTE COUNT, SERUM IRON AND SERUM COPPER LEVELS

Abstract

Fundamental experiments were carried out on the influcence of ACTH or Prednisolon to the peripheral blood count, serum iron and copper level in normal and starved rabbits.
The following results were obtained.
(1) When ACTH and Prednisolone were injected intramuscularly to normal rabbits and starved rabbits, serum iron increased after 2-4 hours. Especially, the increase in serum iron was marked after an intramuscular injection of ACTH to starved rabbits.
(2) No change was observed in serum copper and ceruloplasmin level in normal rabbits after administration of ACTH and Predonisolone. Howeuer, in starved rabbits, ceruloplasmin as well as serum copper value began to decrease at the 4th hour after the injection.
(3) As regards to the activity of transferrin, normal rabbits as well as starved rabbits showed an increase in the unsaturated iron binding capacity at the 8th hour after an injection of ACTH.
(4) The fact that an increase in number of granulocytes was observed in starved rabbits as well as normal rabbits at the 4th hour after injection of ACTH and Prednisolone was inferred that these substances have the capacity of throwing out granulocytes from the hematcpoietic organs.