Abstract
Summary
When dehydroretronecine, a metabolite of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline, is given subcutaneously to rats at doses ranging between 90 and 250 mg per kg body weight, a conspicuous inhibition of cell mitosis occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. Hemorrhage and ulceration of the gastric mucosa were common in the animals that died or were sacrificed within 72 hr after treatment. In addition, the animals experienced splenic and thymic hypoplasia due primarily to the rapid depletion of their lymphocytic components. The bone marrow of these animals was practically devoid of all precursor cells within 48 hr after the administration of dehydroretronecine. There was also an inhibition of cell division in the seminiferous tubules. However, within 7 days, the cells in the gastrointestinal mucosa, spleen, thymus, bone marrow, and testes showed a decided improvement. These data indicate that the effects of dehydroretronecine are primarily limited to its inhibiting effect on mitotic division in rapidly dividing cells. Other lesions such as hepatic necrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and cor pulmonale which are caused by the parent alkaloid monocrotaline were not reproduced by dehydroretronecine.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.