Abstract
Uranium is an internal radionuclide that is exposed daily through food and water. Renal toxicity is the primary health effect of uranium. The chronic ingestion of naturally occurring uranium in contaminated groundwater resulted in decreased renal function related to renal tubular injury. The uses of uranium in the nuclear industry and the decommissioning work of nuclear reactors following the nuclear accident have led to growing public concern over the health effects. Details of renal uranium transport, however, is not well understood. The renal proximal tubules play pivotal roles in the reabsorption of uranium from the urine. The proximal tubules are divided into three regions (S1, S2, and S3) and the regions exhibit region-specific material transport systems. In the present study, the uranium uptake and the sensitivity to uranium were examined in cell lines derived from the three regions of mouse proximal tubules. The intracellular distribution of uranium was analyzed by quantum beam based elemental analyses, such as μPIXE (particle induced X-ray emission with microbeam) and SR-XRF (synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectrometry) with micro and nanobeam. The chemical form of the localized uranium in cells was assessed by X-ray absorption fine-structure with microprobe (μXAFS). The data including the region characteristics of uranium uptake, localized quantity of uranium, its oxidative condition, and colocalized elemental composition after uranium exposure will be presented.
