Abstract
THE polycyclic hydrocarbon 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)-anthracene (DMBA), a potent carcinogen, has been used extensively to study the induction of mammary tumours in rats1–3. Among its other biological effects, DMBA produces severe necrosis of the inner zones of the adrenal cortex in the mature rat4. The immature rat (<30 days of age), however, is not susceptible to the adrenocorticolytic effects unless it is pretreated with ACTH (ref. 5). In the mature rat 7-hydroxymethyl-12-methylbenz(a)-anthracene (7-OHM-12-MBA), a derivative of DMBA, has a more powerful adrenocorticolytic action than the parent hydrocarbon6, but it also has no effect on the adrenal gland of the immature rat7. Pretreatment with β-diethylaminoethyldiphenyl-n-propyl acetate (SKF 525-A), a potent inhibitor of hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes, protects the adrenal glands of the mature rat from the damaging effects of both DMBA and 7-OHM-12-MBA (ref. 8).
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BIRD, C., CRAWFORD, A. & CURRIE, A. Foetal Adrenal Necrosis induced by 7-Hydroxymethyl-12-Methylbenz(a)-anthracene and its Prevention. Nature 228, 72–73 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/228072a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/228072a0
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