Inhibition of DNA and RNA synthesis in rat liver nuclei by oncogenic and non-oncogenic beta-blockers

Influence of beta-adrenergic antagonists on cell proliferation rates in the kidney of untreated and diethylnitrosamine-treated male F344 rats

Some nongenotoxic chemicals which cause kidney tumors have been shown to stimulate tubular cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two beta-adrenoreceptor blocking agents, propranolol and atenolol, on cell proliferation rates in the kidneys of male F344 rats. Immunohistochemical expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and mitotic index have been examined in formalin-stored kidneys from F344 rats used in an initiation-promotion study of carcinogenesis. Cell proliferation rate was quantified in the proximal tubule epithelium. Non-initiated rats and rats initiated with a single dose of diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 200 mg/kg, i.p.) were continuously treated with propranolol (75-100 mg/kg) or atenolol (300 mg/kg) by gavage and were sacrificed after 2, 4, 8 or 21 months of experimentation. There were two control groups, one untreated (D1) and one given distilled water by gavage (D1). Control group D1 showed significantly lower cell proliferation rates than the D0 group. In non-initiated rats, propranolol had a weak enhancing effect on cell proliferation, most evident after 4 months, while atenolol had a clear enhancing effect most evident after 8 months of promoting regimen. Treatment with DENalone resulted in a significant increase in cell proliferation rate as compared to group D1. In DEN-initiated rats given propranolol, there was a borderline significant increase in cell proliferation rates, compared to rats given DEN alone, after 8 months of promoting regimen. Atenolol had no effect. Because of the differences in body weight gain and food consumption observed among the various groups, it is suggested that the state of nutrition may have obscured the effects of beta-blockers on cell proliferation rates.

Toxicity of beta-blockers in a rat whole embryo culture: concentration-response relationships and tissue concentrations

Beta-adrenoceptor blockers are widely used drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Since beta-blockers cross the placenta, it is essential to consider possible adverse effects on the embryo. Six beta-adrenoceptor blockers were tested at various concentrations (10-5000 microM) in a rat whole embryo culture. Although inducing a very similar pattern of dysmorphogenetic effects (incomplete flexure, disturbed development of the neural tube, the head, the heart and the tail bud), the compounds exhibited a wide range of embryotoxic potency. Estimation of the EC50 (median-concentration producing dysmorphogenesis in 50% of the embryos) for the six compounds revealed differences of more than two orders of magnitude: propranolol 25 microM, alprenolol 30 microM, metoprolol 100 microM, pindolol 150 microM, acebutolol 500 microM, atenolol 4000 microM. Measurements of the concentrations of the various drugs in the cultured embryos at corresponding EC50 levels showed differing values: metoprolol 4.5 microM, propranolol 5.2 microM, alprenolol 8.4 microM, pindolol 9.0 microM, acebutolol 12.5 microM and atenolol 77.0 microM. With regard to the EC50 and the degree of substance transfer to the embryo it can be stated that propranolol and metoprolol show a much higher intrinsic potency to interfere with normal in vitro embryonic development than, e.g. atenolol.

Further studies on the tumor-initiating activity of the beta-blocker DL-ZAMI 1305

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the initiating activity of the hepatocarcinogen beta-blocker DL-1-(2-nitro-3-methyl-phenoxy)-3-tert-butylamino-propan-2-ol (DL-ZAMI 1305) by the initiation-promotion protocol of Pereira. Female Wistar rats were given a single dose 150 mg/kg of body weight of DL-ZAMI 1305 by gavage 24 hours before or 24 hours after partial hepatectomy. One week later rats were given phenobarbital (0.05%) in the diet for a period of 7 weeks. DL-ZAMI 1305-treatment resulted in the appearance of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase foci and of other preneoplastic lesions in all animals. Preneoplastic lesions were also present in a fraction of DL-ZAMI 1305-treated animals not subjected to partial hepatectomy, whether given or not phenobarbital. Results obtained in a separate experiment demonstrated that DL-ZAMI 1305-treatment inhibits cell proliferation and induces DNA damage in the regenerating rat liver. The results of this study clearly demonstrated that the beta-blocker DL-ZAMI 1305 is an initiating carcinogen for the liver of female Wistar rats.