Late functional and biochemical changes in mouse lung after irradiation: differential effects of WR-2721.

The radioprotective effect of WR-2721 on late damage after whole thorax irradiation has been studied after split doses of radiation using the standard death and breathing rate assays at monthly intervals between 3 and 15 months after irradiation, as well as two biochemical measurements of injury at 15 months, hydroxyproline (HP), an indicator of tissue fibrosis, and DNA content, an indicator of tissue cellularity. A comparison of HP/lung and breaths per minute (BPM) in each dose group in the WR-2721 and non-WR-2721-treated mice 15 months after irradiation showed that the relationship between these two assays of late lung injury was not the same. There were large dose-related increases in breathing rate corresponding to relatively small changes in HP in the lungs of mice given radiation alone.

Effects of AMSA, an antineoplastic agent, on spermatogenesis in the mouse.

The stages of spermatogenic cells killed by the single and fractionated administration of AMSA, an acridine derivative used in cancer chemotherapy, have been identified in the mouse. A wide range of doses, up to a total of 30 mg/kg, which is the LD50 for AMSA given in three daily injections, was employed. Survival of differentiating (types A1 through Intermediate) and stem spermatogonia was measured by sperm counts performed 29 and 56 days after treatment, respectively.