Toxic effects of dimethylthiourea in rats.

Dimethylthiourea (DMTU) is a small, highly diffusible molecule that effectively scavenges toxic oxygen metabolites in vitro and reduces oxidative injury in many biologic systems. Nonetheless, for unknown reasons, DMTU has occasionally failed to decrease damage in some systems where injury is presumed to be mediated by oxygen metabolites. We hypothesized that the inconsistent pattern of protection might partially reflect a direct toxicity of DMTU.

Effects of dimethylthiourea in hyperoxic injury.

Pretreatment with a single dose of the oxygen metabolite scavenger 1,3-dimethyl-2-thiourea (DMTU) decreased hyperoxia-induced injury (as assessed by measurement of pleural effusions and increases in hematocrits and blood acid-soluble sulfhydryl levels) in rats that were exposed to hyperoxia for 48 hours. However, the degree of protection was not proportional to DMTU dose. An intermediate dose of DMTU (250 mg/kg) reduced injury more than a lower dose of 125 mg/kg and at least as effectively as the higher, widely used dose of 500 mg/kg DMTU.

Blood sulfhydryl level increases during hyperoxia: a marker of oxidant lung injury.

Blood acid-soluble sulfhydryl, but not glutathione (GSH), levels increased during the development of acute edematous lung injury in rats exposed to normobaric hyperoxia for 48 h or more. A relationship between increases in blood sulfhydryl levels, lung injury, and O2 metabolite generation during exposure to hyperoxia was suggested by two observations. First, increases in blood sulfhydryl levels occurred simultaneously with increases in lung oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels and lung GSSG-to-GSH ratios (GSSG/GSH).