Skip to main content
British Journal of Experimental Pathology logoLink to British Journal of Experimental Pathology
. 1969 Feb;50(1):78–83.

Effect of dl-ethionine and Naturally Occurring Amino Acids on Adrenal Necrosis Induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene and its 7-Hydroxymethyl Derivative in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats

D N Wheatley
PMCID: PMC2072106  PMID: 5773149

Abstract

dl-Ethionine at a dose of 125 mg. i.p. 3 days and, to a lesser extent, 4 days before i.v. treatment with 3 mg. 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) protects the adrenal glands from the adrenocorticolytic action of the polycyclic hydrocarbon in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Treatment of rats less than 3 days or more than 4 days before DMBA challenge has no protective effect. dl-Methionine at the same dose as ethionine is not protective when given 3 days before DMBA but shows some protective action as a 1-day pretreatment.

The protective action of ethionine seems unrelated to the suppression of protein synthesis or to the production of fatty liver. With both methionine, and ethionine, protection of adrenal glands is correlated with the marked vacuolation of the cytoplasm of hepatocytes.

Administration of methionine at the same dose as ethionine abolishes the protective action of the latter when they are given 3 days before DMBA.

Glycine, like methionine, also protects when given from about the same time as DMBA to 24 hr. beforehand. Its protective action can be prevented by concomitant administration of large doses of arginine.

None of the aforementioned protective treatments were effective against adrenal necrosis induced by 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz[a]anthracene.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boyland E., Sims P., Huggins C. Induction of adrenal damage and cancer with metabolites of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. Nature. 1965 Aug 21;207(999):816–817. doi: 10.1038/207816b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CONNEY A. H., MILLER E. C., MILLER J. A. Substrate-induced synthesis and other properties of benzpyrene hydroxylase in rat liver. J Biol Chem. 1957 Oct;228(2):753–766. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CRAMER J. W., MILLER J. A., MILLER E. C. The hydroxylation of the carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene by rat liver: stimulation by pretreatment in vivo with 3-methylcholanthrene. J Biol Chem. 1960 Jan;235:250–256. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GELBOIN H. V., MILLER J. A., MILLER E. C. The in vitro formation of protein-bound derivatives of aminoazo dyes by rat liver preparations. Cancer Res. 1959 Oct;19:975–985. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HARPER H. A., NAJARIAN J. S. Comparative effect of arginine and monosodium glutamate on blood ammonia. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1956 Jul;92(3):560–563. doi: 10.3181/00379727-92-22544. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HARRIS P. M., ROBINSON D. S. Ethionine administration in the rat. 1. Effects on the liver and plasma lipids and on the disposal of dietary fat. Biochem J. 1961 Aug;80:352–360. doi: 10.1042/bj0800352. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KOCH-WESER D., FARBER E., POPPER H. Fatty liver with and without necrosis; histological and biochemical investigations. AMA Arch Pathol. 1951 May;51(5):498–509. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Wheatley D. N., Hamilton A. G., Currie A. R., Boyland E., Sims P. Adrenal necrosis induced by 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz(a)anthracene and its prevention. Nature. 1966 Sep 17;211(5055):1311–1312. doi: 10.1038/2111311a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Wheatley D. N., Kernohan I. R., Currie A. R. Liver injury and the prevention of massive adrenal necrosis from 9, 10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene in rats. Nature. 1966 Jul 23;211(5047):387–389. doi: 10.1038/211387a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Experimental Pathology are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES