BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN BETA,BETA'-IMINODIPROPIONITRILE-TREATED RAT BRAIN AND PREVENTION OF TOXICITY BY ETHIONINE

The administration of β,β′‐iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) to rats, either in five daily injections of 30 mg, or in a single injection of 100 mg/100 g body wt., resulted in the development of severe damage to the central nervous system and retinal vasculature. These changes were prevented by the daily intraperitoneal injection of 24 mg dl‐ethionine/100 g body wt. Significant increases in the oxygen uptake of IDPN‐treated rat brain were found when measured in the presence of succinate or glutamate as substrates. IDPN (5 mm) did not affect the oxygen uptake of brain homogenates in vitro when measured in the presence of the same substrates. The cytochrome oxidase activity of rat brain was not significantly changed by in vivo administration of IDPN, nor by the presence of 5 mm‐IDPN in vitro. The lactate content of the IDPN‐treated rat brain was significantly increased by the eighth day. There were no changes in the dry wt., total protein, lipid or phospholipid content of the IDPN‐treated rat brain, even after 4 weeks. These findings are discussed with reference to previous experiments on the toxic action of IDPN on the central nervous system and retinal vasculature. Copyright © 1969, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved