Schistosoma mansoni: reversible destruction of testes by procarbazine.
1. The anticancer drug procarbazine is profoundly damaging to the testes of Schistosoma mansoni when administered at 200 mg/kg or more to the mouse host. Somatic tissues appear entirely unaffected. 2. Within 2 days the meiotic process is disrupted, and primary and secondary spermatocytes and spermatids are destroyed and replaced by amorphous granular material. 3. The testes regenerate within about 15 days, apparently from surviving spermatogonial resting cells near the germinal epithelium of the testis. 4. Livers of mice treated once 7 weeks earlier have numerous egg granulomas and give rise to many miracidia, suggesting that full testis function is regained. 5. Male worms given the drug at 200 mg/kg at 19 days of age and fixed 7 weeks later have on average one testis less than control worms, indicating that about 15% of immature testes are unable to regenerate, whereas mature worms given the drug regenerate the normal number of testes. 6. The drug did not have significant antispermatogenic effects when male worms were incubated for a week with various concentrations in vitro, suggesting that a host metabolite is the active agent.
Basch
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PF
Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305.
Clemens
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LE
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011344:Procarbazine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000187:drug effects*; D013737:Testis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects
D011344:Procarbazine