Effects of Z-100 on mice exposed to gamma-irradiation: a preliminary report

Subcutaneous administration of Z-100 twice a week starting immediately after supralethal whole-body irradiation of mice produced a prolongation of survival time. The effect of Z-100 on the hematopoietic system was thought to have contributed to the prolongation and was thus investigated. A single subcutaneous dose of Z-100 immediately after irradiation inhibited reduction of the total number of nucleated cells in the femoral bone marrow of the treated mice, although the inhibition was not by promotion of the proliferation of specific cells but by promotion of the recovery of multiple cell lines. Treatment with Z-100 promoted colony formation in the spleen of the treated mice and CFU-S formation in the femoral bone marrow, indicating that the drug accelerated the recovery of hematopoietic stem cells. The recovery of CFU-C count was also promoted by Z-100, which suggested that the drug has a restoring effect on the recovery of granulocytic and macrophagic precursor cells. Furthermore, Z-100 produced a greater increase in the CSF activity in the serum of irradiated mice, leading to the presumption that CSF induced by Z-100 was greatly involved in promoting the recovery of the above-mentioned hematopoietic stem cells. We conclude that Z-100 prolonged survival time of irradiated mice by promoting recovery of hematopoiesis of the mice.