Immunosuppressive agents prevent guanethidine-induced destruction of rat sympathetic neurons

Chronic administration of guanethidine to rats causes destruction of peripheral sympathetic neurons. Neuronal destruction, characterized morphologically by small cell infiltration and the reduction in the number of neurons within sympathetic ganglia, and biochemically by a marked reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase activity, occurred reproducibly by day 7 of treatment following 5 daily injections of 50 mg/kg guanethidine sulfate. Several observations in the literature suggested that guanethidine-induced destruction may occur by an immunologically mediated mechanism. Experiments were therefore designed to test the effects of immunosuppressive agents on guanethidine sympathectomy. A single exposure to either gamma-irradiation or cyclophosphamide, administered 8 h prior to the initiation of guanethidine treatment, protected against guanethidine-induced destruction in a dose-related manner and was virtually complete with either 900 rads of irradiation or with 100 or 150 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide afforded complete protection only if administered immediately prior to guanethidine treatment suggesting that it was acting during the proliferative phase of an immune response rather than non-specifically. Pretreatment with either irradiation or cyclophosphamide had no effect on the sympathectomy produced by treatment with either 6-hydroxydopamine or antibodies to nerve growth factor, nor did it prevent the accumulation of guanethidine within the sympathetic ganglia. Concurrent treatment with either azathioprine or dexamethazone also provided partial protection against guanethidine sympathectomy. These results strongly suggest that the destruction of sympathetic neurons induced by guanethidine occurs by an immunologically mediated mechanism.