Biogenesis of intranuclear lead-protein inclusions in mouse kidney.

A single dose of lead (5 mug/g body weight), given as lead acetate by intracardiac injection, produces, within 8 hours, characteristic fibrillar intranuclear and intracytoplasmic inclusions in proximal tubular epithelial cells in mouse kidneys; after a dose of 40 mug/g body weight, such inclusion appeared within 6 hours. Their development was completely prevented by cycloheximide (one or more intraperitoneal injections of 20 mug/g body weight). The development of intranuclear inclusions was also noted in tubular epithelial cells explanted from normal mice and grown in vitro for 15 hours in a medium containing 20 mug lead/ml. Thus, the development of the characteristic fibrillar inclusion bodies depends upon de novo synthesis of inclusion body protein, induced by lead.