THYROXINE: A PUTATIVE NEUROPROTECTANT IN CHEMOTHERAPY INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY IN RATS (original) (raw)
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Neuroscience Letters, 2002
The pathogenesis of the neurotoxicity of most antineoplastic drugs is unknown. Recent reports suggest that changes in the circulating levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) might be related to the dorsal root ganglia sensory neuron damage induced by cisplatin (CDDP), the first member of a family of widely used and very effective platinum-derived anticancer agents. Using a well-characterized model of CDDP neurotoxicity, we demonstrated that the NGF circulating level decreased during chronic CDDP administration in close accordance with the clinical course and returned to normal levels after recovery from the neurotoxic damage. Moreover, these changes were restricted to NGF and did not involve other trophic factors of the same neurotrophin family. Our findings are in agreement with previous in vitro and in vivo results and further suggest that NGF plays a specific role in the course of CDDP-induced primary sensory neuron damage. q
Experimental Neurology, 2010
Cisplatin Paclitaxel Epothilone-B Bortezomib Peripheral neuropathy Nerve conduction velocity Pathology BALB/c mice Cisplatin, paclitaxel and bortezomib belong to some of the most effective families of chemotherapy drugs for solid and haematological cancers. Epothilones represent a new family of very promising antitubulin agents. The clinical use of all these drugs is limited by their severe peripheral neurotoxicity. Several in vivo rat models have reproduced the characteristics of the peripheral neurotoxicity of these drugs. However, since only a very limited number of cancer types can be studied in immunocompetent rats, these animal models do not represent an effective way to evaluate, at the same time, the antineoplastic activity and the neurotoxic effects of the anticancer compounds. In this study, we characterized the neurophysiological impairment induced by chronic chemotherapy treatment in BALB/c mice, a strain suitable for assessing the activity of anticancer treatments. At the end of a 4-week period of treatment with cisplatin, paclitaxel, epothilone-B or bortezomib, sensory and sensory/motor nerve conduction velocities (NCV) were determined in the caudal and digital nerves and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sciatic nerves were collected for histopathological analysis. The electrophysiological studies revealed that all the compounds caused a statistically significant reduction in the caudal NCV, while impairment of the digital NCV was less severe. This functional damage was confirmed by the histopathological observations evidencing axonal degeneration in the sciatic nerve induced by all the drugs associated with pathological changes in DRG induced only by cisplatin and bortezomib. These results confirm the possibility to use our models to combine the study of the antineoplastic activity of anticancer drugs and of their toxic effects on the peripheral nervous system in the BALB/c mouse strain.
Protective effects of glutathione on cisplatin neurotoxicity in rats
International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, 1994
Purpose: Different attempts have been made to minimize the neurotoxicity of cisplatin (DDP) and the use of "nemoprotective" drugs seems to be a promising strategy. In rats we compared the effects on the dorsal root ganglia neurons and peripheral nerves of the administration of DDP alone or in combination with glutathione (GSH), a putative "neuroprotective" drug. Methods and Materials: Twenty-four Wistar rats were treated with DDP alone (2 mg/kg/week) or with the same dose of DDP plus GSH (300 mg/week) for nine cycles and they were compared to 12 untreated age-matched rats. All the animals underwent either neurophysiological examination of the tail nerve or pathologic examination of the dorsal root ganglia. Analytical determination of the platinum concentration in dorsal root ganglia was also performed. Results: Morphologic and morphometric evaluations demonstrated a reduced incidence of pathologic changes in DDP plus GSH-treated rats with respect to DDP-treated ones. In agreement with the morphological findings, the platinum concentration in the dorsal root ganglia was lower and sensory nerve conduction velocity in the tail nerve less markedly decreased in the animals treated with DDP plus GSH with respect to those treated with DDP alone. Conclusion: We conclude that the administration of GSH is effective in reducing the neurotoxic effects of DDP, thus supporting the preliminary results obtained in clinical trials in humans.
Experimental cisplatin neuronopathy in rats and the effect of retinoic acid administration
Journal of Neuro-oncology, 1998
Peripheral nervous system alterations were induced in adult rats by administration of cisplatin (CDDP) 2 mg/kg twice weekly for 4.5 weeks. Dorsal root ganglion neurons showed pathological changes. Morphometric determinations demonstrated a reduction in size of the somatic, nuclear and nucleolar area. The nucleoli were the most involved subcellular structures. Nerve conduction velocity and the tail-flick test for pain were both significantly altered in CDDP treated rats, whereas the rota-rod test for coordination revealed no changes in either treated or control rats. Analytical determinations demonstrated platinum accumulation in the DRG of CDDP treated rats. Spontaneous recovery, demonstrated by morphometric, electrophysiological, functional and analytical determinations, occurred after treatment discontinuation within about 7 weeks. A pilot study of the possible neuroprotective action of retinoic acid (RA) was also performed with this model of cisplatin neuronopathy. The rationale for using RA was based on its assumed antioxidant and neurotrophic effect. However, RA failed to prevent morphometric, electrophysiological, functional and analytical alterations induced by CDDP on DRG neurons. RA induced only a mild generalized protective effect.
Effect of Recombinant Human Nerve Growth Factor on Cisplatin Neurotoxicity in Rats
Experimental Neurology, 1999
In this study we evaluated the effect of recombinant human nerve growth factor (rhNGF) on cisplatin (CDDP)-induced sensory neuronopathy in an experimental paradigm in the rat. Young adult female Wistar rats were treated with CDDP (2 mg/kg ip twice weekly for nine times) alone or in combination with rhNGF (1 mg/kg sc on alternate days). The effect of CDDP ؎ NGF treatment was evaluated with behavioral (tail-flick test) and neurophysiological (nerve conduction velocity in the tail) methods immediately after treatment and after a follow-up period of 6 weeks. Pathological and morphometrical examinations of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sciatic and saphenous nerves were also performed. rhNGF treatment induced a significant reduction in the CDDP-induced decrease in nerve conduction velocity (P F 0.05), and this was associated with a significant protection against the decrease in somatic (P F 0.05), nuclear (P F 0.05), and nucleolar size (P F 0.01) caused by CDDP treatment. However, for each of the parameters examined the neuroprotection obtained with rhNGF treatment was not complete. At the follow-up examination no differences between the three groups were observed in tail-flick test and nerve conduction velocity. We conclude that rhNGF, administered according to the schedule used in this experiment, exerts a biologically significant neuroprotective effect against CDDP peripheral neurotoxicity.
Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2006
Purpose: Antineoplastic drugs, such as cisplatin (CDDP), are severely neurotoxic, causing disabling peripheral neuropathies with clinical signs known as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity. Cotreatment with neuroprotective agents and CDDP has been proposed for preventing or reversing the neuropathy. Erythropoietin given systemically has a wide range of neuroprotective actions in animal models of central and peripheral nervous system damage. However, the erythropoietic action is a potential cause of side effects if erythropoietin is used for neuroprotection. We have successfully identified derivatives of erythropoietin, including carbamylated erythropoietin, which do not raise the hematocrit but retain the neuroprotective action exerted by erythropoietin. Experimental Design:We have developed previously an experimental chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity that closely resembles CDDP neurotoxicity in humans. The present study compared the effects of erythropoietin and carbamylated erythropoietin (50 Ag/kg/d thrice weekly) on CDDP (2 mg/kg/d i.p. twice weekly for 4 weeks) neurotoxicity in vivo.
Carboplatin toxic effects on the peripheral nervous system of the rat
Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology / ESMO, 1998
The most striking of carboplatin's advantages (CBDCA) over cisplatin (CDDP) is its markedly reduced rate of neurotoxic effects. However, the use of CBDCA higher-intensity schedules and the association with other neurotoxic drugs in polychemotherapy may cause some concern about its safety with respect to peripheral nervous system damage. Two different schedules of CBDCA administration (10 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg i.p. twice a week for nine times) were evaluated in Wistar rats. Neurotoxicity was assessed for behavioral (tail-flick test), neurophysiological (nerve conduction velocity in the tail nerve), morphological, morphometrical and analytical effects. CBDCA administration induced dose-dependent peripheral neurotoxicity. Pain perception and nerve conduction velocity in the tail were significantly impaired, particularly after the high-dose treatment. The dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons and, to a lesser extent, satellite cells showed the same changes as those induced by CDDP, mainl...