title: Muscle atrophy and histopathology of the soleus in 6-mercaptopurine-treated rats.
abstract: In this study, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated neonatally with 6-MP-treatment (2 mg/kg s/c, between 2 and 22 days after birth) and evaluated at six months of age. Compared to the normal controls, the 6-MP-treated male and female rats showed similar sciatic nerve conduction to the soleus. However, there was a significant muscle atrophy (57-60%, P less than 0.01) and a decrease in areas of the type I (42-54%, P less than 0.05) and type II (41-71%, P less than 0.01) muscle fibers. The number of type II fibers declined significantly (7.4-14.8%, P less than 0.05). It is proposed that the soleus muscle atrophy and histopathology in 6-MP-treated rats is unrelated to nerve conduction defects and may be related to growth inhibition caused by an interference of the drug during normal differentiation of muscle fibers.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D015122:Mercaptopurine / Q000633:toxicity*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000187:drug effects; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D015122:Mercaptopurine