Beta-glucan inhibits the genotoxicity of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin and cisplatin.
The inhibitory effects of beta-glucan (betaG), one of the biological response modifiers, on the induction of chromosomal aberrations in the bone marrow and spermatogonial cells of mice treated with various anti-neoplastic drugs were investigated. beta-Glucan (100 mg/kg bw, i.p.) pre-treatment reduced the total number of cells with structural chromosomal aberrations scored after the treatment with cyclophosphamide (CP) (2.5 mg/kg bw, i.p.) adriamycin (ADR) (12 mg/kg bw, i.p.) and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum-II (cisplatin) (5 mg/kg bw, i.p.) by about 41.1, 26.9 and 57.7% in bone marrow and 44.4, 55 and 57.1% in spermatogonial cells, respectively. This protective effect of beta-glucan could be attributed to its scavenging ability to trap free-radicals produced during the biotransformation of these anti-neoplastic drugs. Beta-glucan also markedly restored the mitotic activity of bone marrow cells that had been suppressed by the anti-neoplastic drugs. These results indicate that in addition to the known immunopotentiating activity of beta-glucan, it plays a role in reducing genotoxicity induced by anti-neoplastic drugs during cancer chemotherapy.
Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt.
Amany A
AA
Tohamy
Akmal A
AA
El-Ghor
Soheir M
SM
El-Nahas
Magda M
MM
Noshy
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000633:toxicity*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000633:toxicity*; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000633:toxicity*; D005936:Glucans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000187:drug effects
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005936:Glucans; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002945:Cisplatin