[Stimulating effects of carnosine on hemopoietic stem cells]

It was shown that intake of carnosine in a dose of 50-100 mg/kg of body weight before X-ray irradiation resulted in an increase of the survival of experimental mice. The protective effect of carnosine was manifested, when it was injected either before or after irradiation, but the effect was more pronounced in the case of shortening time between irradiation and injection. An enhancement of colony forming index of bound cells in spleen was also observed simultaneously with protective action of carnosine. These effects are supposed to be the result of immunomodulating activity of carnosine.