Abstract
Favism is an acute hemolytic anemia known to occur in susceptible individuals who ingest fava beans. Susceptibility to favism is conferred by a genetic deficiency in erythrocytic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity. Although the fava bean pyrimidine aglycones, divicine and isouramil, have been implicated in the onset of favism in humans, the lack of a well-defined experimental animal model for favism has hampered progress in elucidating the mechanism underlying hemotoxicity. We have examined whether a favic-like response could be provoked in G6PD-normal rats treated with synthetic divicine. Intraperitoneal administration of divicine to rats preloaded with 51Cr-tagged erythrocytes resulted in a severe, dose- dependent decrease in blood radioactivity (TD50 ~0.5 mmol/kg) within 24 h. The increased rate of removal of blood radioactivity was accompanied by a rapid decline in reduced glutathione levels in the blood, decreased hematocrits, marked hemoglobinuria, splenic enlargement, and reticulocytosis. In vitro exposure of 51Cr-tagged red cells to divicine before their re- administration to isologous rats also resulted in a sharp, concentration- dependent decrease in erythrocyte survival in vivo (TC50 ~1.5 mM), and these divicine-damaged red cells were removed from the circulation by the spleen. These data demonstrate that a favic response can be induced in G6PD- normal rats treated with divicine, and that hemolytic activity can be reproduced in isolated red cells under conditions that will allow a direct examination of the mechanism underlying this hemotoxicity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 310-316 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Toxicological Sciences |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1999 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Divicine
- Erythrocytes
- Favism
- Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD)
- Hemolytic anemia
- Rat
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Toxicology