Influence of desferrioxamine on cytotoxic and biochemical changes induced by doxorubicin in noma cell bearing swiss albino mice

ABSTRACT

Normal and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cell [EAC cell] bearing Swiss albino mice,6-8 weeks old were treated with desferrioxamine [DFO] at doses of 125 and 250 mg/kg / day body weight. Some of the mice in each group were injected with doxorubicin [DOXO] [15 mg/kg] and killed 30 h after the last DFO treatment. The total proteins and nucleic acids were analyzed in the liver and testes of normal mice and EAC cells in the ascetic mice. DFO treatment was found to be devoid of any significant effect on protein and nucleic acids in hepatic and testicular cells of normal mice and the EAC cells of ascetic mice. Pre treatment with DFO at a single dose failed to protect the biochemical changes induced by DOXO, whereas DFO treatment for 7 days was found to provide significant protection against the DOXO induced changes in nucleic acids in normal mice, but it does not interfere with the antineoplastic effect of doxorubicin. The protective effect of DFO may be advantagous in cancer therapy involving drugs which binds to DNA and cause neoplastic changes