Bleomycin-induced cutaneous toxicity in the rat: analysis of histopathology and ultrastructure compared with...

Rats injected with bleomycin over a 58-week period developed weight loss, alopecia, hyperpigmentation, skin thickening and skin tautness when compared with saline-injected control animals. The only significant abnormality in laboratory blood tests was an increased sedimentation rate in the bleomycin-treated rats compared with controls. Histological examination of dorsal skin showed atrophied sebaceous glands and increased collagen fibres, with diameters ranging from 37.5 to 75 nm as compared with 72.5 to 100 nm in control animals. Chronic bleomycin exposure produces clinical, histological and ultrastructural skin changes similar to those found in human progressive systemic sclerosis (scleroderma).