Biological half-lives and organ distribution of tritiated 8-lysine-vasopressin and 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin in Brattleboro rats.

The biological half-lives and organ distribution of tritiated 8-lysine-vasopressin and 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin were determined in R-Amsterdam rats and in homozygous and heterozygous Brattleboro rats with hereditary central diabetes insipidus. It was found that the biological half-lives of [3H]LVP and [3H]dDAVP in the Brattleboro rats did not differ significantly from that found in the control R-Amsterdam rats. The half-life of [3H]dDAVP proved longer than that of [3H]LVP in all three groups of animals. In the case of [3H]LVP the highest radioactivities were observed in the neurohypophyses, adenohypophyses, and kidneys of both the R-Amsterdam and Brattleboro rats. The accumulation of tritiated material was higher in the small intestine of the Brattleboro rats than in that of the R-Amsterdam animals. In all three groups of rats, [3H]dDAVP was accumulated to the greatest extent in the kidney and the small intestine. The kidney and small intestine contained less radioactivity in homozygous Brattleboro rats than in the controls. There was only a slight radioactivity accumulation in the adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis. From the results it was concluded that the decrease in the rate of enzymatic decomposition may play a role in the increased duration of antidiuretic action of dDAVP. The results have led to the conclusion that the accelerated elimination of vasopressin and its pathologic organ accumulation are probably not involved in the water metabolism disturbance of Brattleboro rats with hereditary diabetes insipidus.