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Hemodynamic effects of intraatrial administration of deferoxamine or deferoxamine-pentafraction conjugate to conscious dogs.

Deferoxamine (DFX) is a specific Fe3+ chelator that is used to manage iron overload, and is being evaluated as an agent to reduce ischemic organ damage that involves iron-mediated OH formation. However, high intravascular doses cause significant hemodynamic changes that may limit or counteract beneficial effects. We used conscious, closed-chest dogs to test the hypothesis that conjugating DFX to pentafraction, a high molecular weight fraction of pentastarch, could reduce such hemodynamic changes. We infused 50 mg/kg of body weight of native DFX, or an equivalent dose as DFX-pentafraction, intraatrially over 15 min. Within 10 min of starting the infusion. DFX increased heart rate from pre-drug values of 105 +/- 11 (mean +/- SEM; N = 9) to 158 +/- 13 beats/min, and reduced left ventricular (LV) systolic pressure from 131 +/- 3 to 99 +/- 16 mm Hg, LV end-diastolic pressure from 12 +/- 3 to 3 +/- 3 mm Hg, and mean arterial pressure (MABP) from 101 +/- 5 to 74 +/- 13 mm Hg. In two dogs, MABP decreased to less than or equal to 35 mm Hg. These parameters returned to predrug values by 60 min after infusion. All of these changes were statistically significant (p less than 0.05). In contrast, infusing DFX-pentafraction (N = 9) caused no significant cardiac or hemodynamic changes other than a transient and slight (approximately 7%) increase in systolic arterial pressures. This conjugate, which prolongs the plasma half-life and does not alter the iron-chelating activity of native DFX, eliminates many undesirable hemodynamic actions. It may be a useful therapeutic alternative to native DFX in some settings.

Animals

Inhibition of peroxidase-catalyzed reactions by deferoxamine.

Phagocytes generate superoxide (O2-.) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and their interaction in an iron-catalyzed reaction to form hydroxyl radicals (OH.) (Haber-Weiss reaction) has been proposed. Deferoxamine chelates iron in a catalytically inactive form, and thus inhibition by deferoxamine has been employed as evidence for the involvement of OH. generated by the Haber-Weiss reaction. We report here that deferoxamine also inhibits reactions catalyzed by the peroxidases of phagocytes, i.e., myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO). The reactions inhibited include iodination in the presence and absence of chloride and the oxidation of guaiacol. Iodination by MPO and H2O2 is stimulated by chloride due to the intermediate formation of hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Iodination by reagent HOCl also is inhibited by deferoxamine with the associated consumption of HOCl. Iron saturation of deferoxamine significantly decreased but did not abolish its inhibitory effect on iodination by MPO + H2O2 or HOCl. Deferoxamine did not affect the absorption spectrum of MPO, suggesting that it does not react with or remove the heme iron. The conversion of MPO to Compound II by H2O2 was not seen when H2O2 was added to MPO in the presence of deferoxamine, suggesting either that deferoxamine inhibited the formation of Compound II by acting as an electron donor for MPO Compound I or that deferoxamine immediately reduced the Compound II formed. Iodination by stimulated neutrophils also was inhibited by deferoxamine, suggesting an effect on peroxidase-catalyzed reactions in intact cells. Thus deferoxamine has multiple effects on the formation and activity of phagocyte-derived oxidants and therefore its inhibitory effect on oxidant-dependent damage needs to be interpreted with caution.

Animals

Efficacy of intramuscular and intraperitoneal deferoxamine for aluminum chelation.

As intravenous administration of deferoxamine is difficult in home dialysis patients we set out to determine the efficacy of intramuscular (i.m.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) deferoxamine for removal of aluminum. Patients with serum aluminum levels greater than 90 micrograms/liter were studied in a paired fashion with each patient serving as their own control. Serum and peritoneal fluid aluminum were determined using flameless atomic absorption. In hemodialysis patients 2 g of intravenous deferoxamine increased serum aluminum from 124.7 +/- 32.4 to 415 +/- 192.4 micrograms/liter. One g of deferoxamine given intravenously or intramuscularly resulted in 76.8 +/- 35.3% and 70.4 +/- 23.2%, respectively, of the 2 g i.v. response. The rate at which serum aluminum increased following i.v. deferoxamine infusion was biphasic, with an initial rapid phase lasting 139 minutes followed by a much slower phase. The volume of distribution of aluminum following deferoxamine administration was 12.6 +/- 1.61 and the half life (t1/2) for aluminum removal during hemodialysis was 9.0 +/- 2.0 hours. The increase in serum aluminum following deferoxamine was not due to chelation of erythrocyte aluminum as erythrocyte aluminum remained constant over 24 hours. In patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, 2 g intravenous deferoxamine resulted in the removal of 560 +/- 267 micrograms of aluminum over 24 hours while 2 g deferoxamine given intraperitoneally gave 91 +/- 13% of the intravenous response. Aluminum clearance over 48 hours was twice that for 24 hours for both i.v. and i.p. deferoxamine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aluminum

High-dose iron-chelator therapy during reperfusion with deferoxamine-hydroxyethyl starch conjugate fails to reduce canine infarct size.

Iron catalyzes reactions during ischemia and reperfusion that contribute to myocardial injury. The iron-chelator deferoxamine blocks these reactions, but undesirable side effects limit the clinical potential of deferoxamine to decrease injury. We tested whether intravenous (i.v.) administration of high doses of a well-tolerated deferoxamine-hydroxyethyl starch (DEFHES) iron-chelator during the last 10 min of ischemia and the first 10 min of reperfusion would decrease canine infarct size. Fourteen chloralose-anesthetized mongrel dogs were randomized to therapy in a blinded fashion with deferoxamine conjugate (75 mg/kg deferoxamine) or hydroxyethyl starch (HES) vehicle alone. Nine other untreated dogs served as controls. Infarct size as a percentage of area at risk (MI/RISK) was not reduced by therapy with deferoxamine conjugate. The deferoxamine dose was five times greater than the maximally tolerated dose of free deferoxamine. Arterial deferoxamine concentrations in the deferoxamine-conjugate group were 0.69 +/- 0.09 mM at onset of reperfusion and 1.37 +/- 0.05 mM at 10 min of reperfusion. Area at risk, ischemic collateral blood flow, and heart rate-blood pressure (HR/BP) product were similar in the groups. Chelation of intravascular iron at the time of reperfusion does not reduce myocardial necrosis in an in vivo model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Analysis of Variance

Deferoxamine pretreatment reduces canine infarct size and oxidative injury.

To test whether iron-catalyzed processes contribute to myocardial necrosis during ischemia and reperfusion, we administered the iron chelator, deferoxamine, to chloralose-anesthetized dogs subjected to 90 min of left anterior descending artery occlusion followed by 360 min of reperfusion. Deferoxamine blocks iron-catalyzed hydroxyl radical formation in vitro. Groups of dogs received either pretreatment with deferoxamine or iron-loaded deferoxamine (15 mg/kg over 30 min preocclusion and 2.5 mg/kg/hr during the first 120 min of reperfusion), equal volumes of saline or deferoxamine treatment during reperfusion (15 mg/kg over 30 min beginning at 75 min of occlusion followed by 2.5 mg/kg/hr during the remainder of the first 120 min of reperfusion). Infarct size as a percentage of area at risk was reduced (P less than .05) by deferoxamine pretreatment (29.8 +/- 4.8%, n = 7, +/- S.E.) compared to saline control (46.8 +/- 4.7%, n = 8), deferoxamine reperfusion (50.5 +/- 6.7%, n = 8) or iron-loaded deferoxamine (60.2 +/- 8.6%, n = 3)-treated dogs. Deferoxamine pretreatment also decreased (P less than .05) the release of oxidized glutathione into the coronary sinus during early reperfusion compared to the other groups. There were no differences between groups in area at risk, risk zone blood flow during ischemia or in heart rate-blood pressure product. Deferoxamine did not decrease hydrogen peroxide concentration, neutrophil superoxide anion production or neutrophil adherence in vitro. We conclude that iron-mediated processes, possibly including iron-catalyzed hydroxyl radical formation, contribute to myocardial necrosis during regional ischemia and reperfusion.

Animals

Aluminum removal by peritoneal dialysis: intravenous vs. intraperitoneal deferoxamine.

Aluminum removal via peritoneal dialysis was evaluated after the administration of deferoxamine in patients treated with CAPD and CCPD. The intravenous administration of deferoxamine, 40 mg/kg, led to a 730 +/- 139% increase in aluminum removal, compared to an increase of 641 +/- 178% after the drug was administered intraperitoneally. The mean dialysate: plasma concentration ratio for aluminum rose from 0.17 +/- 0.03 to 0.32 +/- 0.03 with intravenous deferoxamine administration, and from 0.19 +/- 0.05 to 0.38 +/- 0.07 with the intraperitoneal instillation of deferoxamine. In the seven patients with paired studies using both modalities of administration, there were no significant differences in the increments in plasma aluminum or in aluminum removal over a 24-hour period. In patients from whom effluent dialysate was collected for several days after the administration of deferoxamine, daily aluminum losses increased from 218 +/- 76 micrograms/24 hours before the administration of desferrioxamine to 1521 +/- 339, 1120 +/- 232, and 948 +/- 328 micrograms/24 hours over three successive days after deferoxamine. These data indicate that aluminum is effectively removed after the administration of either intravenous or intraperitoneal deferoxamine. The enhanced rate of removal of aluminum by peritoneal dialysis persists for several days after a single dose of deferoxamine. The efficacy and safety of long-term treatment with intraperitoneal deferoxamine requires further study.

Adult

Growth failure and bony changes induced by deferoxamine.

We reviewed the linear growth and growth plate morphology in all children with homozygous beta thalassemia followed in Toronto, for whom monthly height percentiles were available before, and for a 36-month period after, the initiation of nightly subcutaneous deferoxamine therapy. All patients were less than 7 years of age when begun on deferoxamine, and had received nightly deferoxamine for a minimum of 36 months. Marked abnormalities of the metaphyseal growth plate were readily observed in the distal ulnar, radial, and tibial metaphyses in 11 of 37 patients in whom a significant decline in mean height percentile was also noted. (In 10 of these 11 patients, height was less than the 15th percentile after 36 months.) These 11 patients had received a significantly greater (p less than 0.025) initial and average daily dose of deferoxamine, and had maintained a significantly lower (p less than 0.025) mean serum ferritin concentration over the 36 months, than the remainder of the cohort. To determine whether deferoxamine played a causative role in growth failure, growth in patients who began deferoxamine before the age 2 years was compared to that of patients who began after age 5 years, for the period between 2 and 5 years of age. Only patients begun on deferoxamine prior to age 2 years demonstrated a significant (p less than 0.01) decline in height percentile by the third year, implicating deferoxamine therapy as the cause of growth failure. We conclude that both the decline in height percentile and the bony changes observed in well-chelated patients are directly related to deferoxamine therapy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alkaline Phosphatase

Treatment with deferoxamine during ischemia improves functional and metabolic recovery and reduces reperfusion-induced oxygen radical generation in rabbit hearts.

BACKGROUND: Iron may play a central role in oxygen radical generation during myocardial ischemia and after reperfusion. Because conditions during ischemia may also liberate iron, we hypothesized that administration of the iron chelator deferoxamine during ischemia would result in improved functional and metabolic recovery after postischemic reperfusion. METHODS AND RESULTS: Isolated, perfused rabbit hearts were studied by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The hearts received one of three treatments: deferoxamine at the onset of 30 minutes of global ischemia (n = 9), deferoxamine as a bolus followed by a continuous 15-minute infusion begun at reflow (n = 9), or standard perfusate (n = 7). Hearts treated with deferoxamine during ischemia showed better recovery of developed pressure than did control hearts (63.2 +/- 7.5% versus 41.2 +/- 2.9% of baseline) (p = 0.02) and better recovery of myocardial phosphocreatine content (92.4 +/- 10.3% versus 68.2 +/- 4.5% of baseline, p less than 0.05). These functional and metabolic benefits were comparable to those obtained with deferoxamine treatment during early reperfusion. In 15 additional hearts, intraischemic treatment with deferoxamine resulted in no reduction in oxygen radical concentrations as measured on frozen tissue by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at end ischemia, but the treatment eliminated the reperfusion-induced increase of free radical generation observed in control hearts (2.9 +/- 0.01 versus 7.0 +/- 0.07 microM, p less than 0.001). The magnitude of reduction was similar to that when deferoxamine was given at the onset of reflow (2.4 +/- 0.02 microM, p less than 0.001 versus control). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate improved functional and metabolic recovery of myocardium treated with deferoxamine during ischemia, accompanied by a reduction in reperfusion-induced oxygen free-radical generation to the same degree as reflow treatment, confirming the importance of iron in the pathogenesis of myocardial reperfusion injury.

Animals

Protection by deferoxamine from endothelial injury: a possible link with inhibition of intracellular xanthine oxidase.

Hydroxyl radical scavengers and xanthine oxidase inhibitors protect cultured bovine pulmonary endothelial cells (BPAEC) from lytic injury by the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We hypothesized that exposure of BPAEC to cytotoxic concentrations of LPS activated intracellular xanthine oxidase, and that intracellular iron-dependent hydroxyl radical formation (a Fenton reaction) ensued, resulting in cell lysis. To test this, the protective effects of deferoxamine against H2O2 and LPS-induced cytotoxicity to BPAEC was assessed by 51Cr release. Preincubation with 0.4 mM deferoxamine conferred 67 +/- 15% (mean +/- SE) protection from LPS-induced cytotoxicity but 48 h of preincubation were required to induce significant protection. Significant protection form a classical Fenton reaction model, injury by 50 microM H2O2, could be induced by a 1-h preincubation with a 0.4 mM deferoxamine. The dissociated time course suggested that deferoxamine might work by different mechanisms in these models. The effects of LPS and deferoxamine on BPAEC-associated xanthine oxidase (XO) and xanthine dehydrogenase (XD) activity were assessed using a spectrofluorophotometric measurement of the conversion of pterin to isoxanthopterin. BPAEC had 106 +/- 7 microU/mg XD+XO activity; XO activity constituted 48 +/- 1% of total XO+XD activity. LPS at a cytotoxic concentration did not alter XO, XD, or percent XO. Deferoxamine had striking proportional inhibitory effects on XO and XD in intact cells. XO+XD activity fell to 6 +/- 1% of control levels during a 48-h exposure of BPAEC to deferoxamine. Deferoxamine did not inhibit XO+XD ex vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Cellular pool of transient ferric iron, chelatable by deferoxamine and distinct from ferritin, that is involved in oxidative cell injury.

A cellular pool of transient ferric iron that is chelatable by deferoxamine, distinct from ferritin, and required for oxidative cell injury has been identified in cultured rat hepatocytes labeled with 59FeCl3. Pretreatment of hepatocytes with deferoxamine depleted the cellular pool of chelatable iron and protected the cells from an oxidative injury. Incubation of deferoxamine-pretreated hepatocytes in serum-free medium restored both the chelatable iron pool and the susceptibility to oxidative injury. Furthermore, inhibition of protein degradation with chymostatin prevented the restoration of both the chelatable pool and susceptibility to oxidative injury. The deferoxamine-chelatable iron pool was distinguished kinetically and immunochemically from the larger cellular pool of ferritin iron. The labeled iron in the deferoxamine-chelatable pool was transient, unlike either the total cellular uptake of 59Fe or its incorporation into ferritin, both of which increased with time of labeling. With pulse-chase labeling, the percentage of the total uptake of 59Fe that was represented by the deferoxamine-chelatable pool decreased. At the same time, the percentage represented by radioactivity immunoprecipitable as ferritin increased. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation of ferritin from the labeled lysates enriched the resulting immunosupernatants in deferoxamine-chelatable iron. The degree of enrichment for chelatable iron correlated with the percentage of the cellular label that was immunoprecipitable as ferritin. The deferoxamine-chelatable iron appears to represent a metabolically common pool of iron that is rapidly in transit through the cell. Extracellular iron entering the pool can be utilized for heme synthesis or stored in ferritin, whereas protein degradation releases storage iron into this pool.

Animals

Serial studies of auditory neurotoxicity in patients receiving deferoxamine therapy.

Visual and auditory neurotoxicity was previously documented in 42 of 89 patients with transfusion-dependent anemia who were receiving iron chelation therapy with daily subcutaneous deferoxamine. Twenty-two patients in the affected group had abnormal audiograms with deficits mostly in the high frequency range of 4,000 to 8,000 Hz and in the hearing threshold levels of 30 to 100 decibels. When deferoxamine therapy was discontinued and serial studies were performed, audiograms in seven cases reverted to normal or near normal within two to three weeks, and nine of 13 patients with symptoms became asymptomatic. Audiograms from 15 patients remained abnormal and four patients required hearing aids because of permanent disability. Since 18 of the 22 patients were initially receiving deferoxamine doses in excess of the commonly recommended 50 mg/kg per dose, therapy was restarted with lower doses, usually 50 mg/kg per dose or less depending on the degree of auditory abnormality, and with the exception of two cases no further toxicity was demonstrated. Auditory deterioration and improvement, demonstrated serially in individual patients receiving and not receiving deferoxamine, respectively, provided convincing evidence for a cause-and-effect relation between deferoxamine administration and ototoxicity. Based on these data, a plan of management was developed that allows effective yet safe administration of deferoxamine. A dose of 50 mg/kg is recommended in those without audiogram abnormalities. With mild toxicity, a reduction to 30 or 40 mg/kg per dose should result in a reversal of the abnormal results to normal within four weeks. Moderate abnormalities require a reduction of deferoxamine to 25 mg/kg per dose with careful monitoring. In those with symptoms of hearing loss, the drug should be stopped for four weeks, and when the audiogram is stable or improved, therapy should be restarted at 10 to 25 mg/kg per dose. Serial audiograms should be performed every six months in those without problems and more frequently in young patients with normal serum ferritin values and in those with auditory dysfunction.

Adolescent

Early treatment with deferoxamine limits myocardial ischemic/reperfusion injury.

Oxygen-derived free radicals (the superoxide anion O2- and hydroxyl radical.OH) have been implicated in myocardial injury associated with coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. Transition metals (such as iron or copper) are needed to catalyze the formation of the .OH radical and subsequent .OH-mediated lipid peroxidation, yet the role of these transition metals in the pathogenesis of myocyte necrosis remains undefined. To address this issue, 21 dogs underwent 2 h of coronary artery occlusion and 4 h of reperfusion. Each animal was randomly assigned into 1 of 3 treatment groups: 7 received the iron chelator deferoxamine beginning 30 min preocclusion, 7 received deferoxamine beginning 5 min prior to reperfusion, while 7 dogs served as saline controls. Deferoxamine effectively chelated free iron in both treatment groups (total urine iron content averaged 42 +/- 16, 662 +/- 177 and 803 +/- 2.5 micrograms in control, pretreated, and deferoxamine at reperfusion groups respectively; p less than 0.05), but had no significant effect on in vivo area at risk (AR), hemodynamic parameters, collateral blood flow during occlusion, or myocardial blood flow following reperfusion. Area of necrosis (AN) in dogs pretreated with deferoxamine (34.6 +/- 3.7% of the AR; p less than 0.05) was significantly smaller than that observed in the saline control group (55.4 +/- 4.7% of the AR). Deferoxamine administered at the time of reperfusion, however, had no significant effect on infarct size (AN/AR = 54.3 +/- 8.7%, p = NS vs. controls). Thus, early treatment with the iron chelator deferoxamine acutely reduced the extent of myocyte necrosis produced by 2 h of transient coronary artery occlusion in the canine model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Binding of deferoxamine to asbestos fibers in vitro and in vivo.

We studied the binding of tritium-labeled deferoxamine, a strong iron chelator, to crocidolite asbestos fibers in vitro and in vivo. In aqueous suspension of asbestos, deferoxamine binding was rapid and strong, suggesting specific binding to iron. For the in vivo experiments, diffusion chambers containing native asbestos fibers or deferoxamine-washed asbestos were implanted in the peritoneal cavities of mice. Five days after parenteral injection of tritiated deferoxamine chambers were removed and the asbestos counted. More than twice as much label (2206 +/- 348 c.p.m./100 mg asbestos) was bound to the native asbestos as compared to the deferoxamine-washed asbestos (1080 +/- 201 c.p.m./100 mg asbestos), suggesting specific binding in vivo. Since deferoxamine can inhibit asbestos toxicity in vitro, these experiments suggest the feasibility of testing whether deferoxamine can prevent asbestos-related disease in vivo.

Animals

Novel uses of deferoxamine.

Deferoxamine has been extensively used as chelation therapy in iron-overloaded states. Recently, some investigators have explored the potential usefulness of deferoxamine as an antiproliferative, antiinflammatory, and immunosuppressive agent. The studies of deferoxamine have indicated that the drug blocks DNA synthesis by inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase. Deferoxamine has also shown antiinflammatory properties, possibly by inhibition of polymorphonuclear neutrophil function. Analysis of possible antiinflammatory effects of deferoxamine has been complicated by concomitant immunosuppressive effects of the drug. Deferoxamine inhibits T lymphocyte proliferation, both by ribonucleotide reductase inhibition and by preventing the expression of interleukin 2 receptor-alpha chain. The use of iron-chelating agents in non-iron-overloaded patients carries the risk of neurologic, metabolic, and infectious complications. The clinical usefulness of deferoxamine in these novel applications will require careful study of both efficacy and any toxic effects.

Animals

The effect of deferoxamine on bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in the hamster.

Bleomycin is a commonly used antineoplastic compound that can produce a dose- and time-dependent pneumonitis and fibrosis in humans. The mechanism of bleomycin-induced fibrosis is not known. However, current data suggest that the production of oxygen radicals by way of a ferrous ion-molecular oxygen mechanism might be related to the pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, we evaluated the possibility that parenterally administered deferoxamine, an iron chelating compound, could modulate the morphologic and biochemical estimates of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in hamsters. Deferoxamine pretreatment and daily injection for 21 days after intratracheally administered bleomycin resulted in a 33% reduction in lung collagen accumulation compared with that after bleomycin treatment alone. However, fibrosis was still present in the bleomycin-deferoxamine group; the animals showed a 142 and 150% increase in lung collagen compared with that in saline- and deferoxamine-treated control animals, respectively. Morphologic estimates of the severity of fibrosis in the bleomycin-deferoxamine treatment group were reduced when compared with the bleomycin treatment group alone, but was increased compared with saline- and saline-deferoxamine-treated control animals. These data indicate that deferoxamine treatment reduces the severity of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in hamsters. The mechanism might be by the prevention of iron-catalyzed, free-radical formation.

Animals

Iron chelation therapy and lung transplantation. Effects of deferoxamine on lung preservation in canine single lung transplantation.

Reperfusion injury is a limiting factor in lung transplantation. Deferoxamine is an iron chelator that inhibits the formation of oxygen-derived free radicals. We investigated the effects of deferoxamine on posttransplantation lung function in a canine model of single lung transplantation. Twelve dogs underwent left lung transplantation after 20- to 24-hour hypothermic storage in a modified Euro-Collins solution. In six experiments donor and recipient received a 10 mg/kg dose of deferoxamine before harvest and transplantation, and 10 mg/kg was added to the preservation solution. Arterial oxygen tension, alveolar-arterial oxygen difference, pulmonary vascular resistance, and dynamic lung compliance were measured. Data were recorded for 6 hours after ligation of the native pulmonary artery. At the end of the study the mean arterial oxygen tension was 175.1 mm Hg for the deferoxamine treated group versus 71.1 mm Hg for the control group (p less than 0.001), and the alveolar-arterial oxygen difference was less in the deferoxamine-treated group: 502.3 versus 606.0 mm Hg (p less than 0.001). The mean pulmonary vascular resistance was lower throughout the study, and after 6 hours it was 455.1 dynes/sec/cm(-5) in the deferoxamine-treated group versus 663.7 dynes/sec/cm(-5) in the control group (p less than 0.035). Compliance was similar in both groups. We conclude that deferoxamine improves lung preservation and early posttransplantation function in canine single lung transplantation.

Animals

Impairment of nucleotide metabolism by iron-chelating deferoxamine.

The effect of deferoxamine on nucleotide metabolism in HL-60 leukemic cells was studied to explore the mechanism of its antiproliferation activity. It was found that in intact cells deferoxamine markedly inhibited the ribonucleotide reduction and incorporation of bases (adenine, hypoxanthine), ribonucleosides (inosine, guanosine) and deoxyribonucleosides (thymidine, deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine) into nucleic acids. Although deferoxamine did not inhibit thymidine and uridine incorporation into free nucleotides, inhibition of hypoxanthine and adenine incorporation into nucleotides as well as inhibition of nucleotide biosynthesis de novo was found. Nucleotide catabolism, protein synthesis, and intracellular levels of ribonucleotides were not affected significantly by deferoxamine. These results showed that deferoxamine selectively affects several specific reactions of nucleotide metabolism. Inhibition of ribonucleotide reduction, inhibition of ribonucleotide and deoxyribonucleotide incorporation into nucleic acids, as well as inhibition of purine biosynthesis, may alter significantly cellular physiology and, therefore, contribute significantly to the antiproliferative activity of deferoxamine.

Cell Division