The Inhibiting Effect of Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes with Thiol-containing Ligands on the Growth of Endometrioid Tumours in Rats with Experimental Endometriosis

The possibility that binuclear dinitrosyl iron complexes with glutathione and cysteine (DNIC-GSH and B-DNIC-Cys) have a strong cytotoxic effect on the growth of endometrioid tumours (EMT) in rats with surgically induced experimental endometriosis established in our previous studies has been supported with experimental data. The increase in the DNIC-GSH or B-DNIC-Cys dose from 10 (in our previous studies) to 20mol/kg (after i/p administration to experimental rats) fully suppressed the growth of uterine tissues implanted onto the inner surface of the abdominal wall. At 2mol/kg DNIC-GSH, the median value of EMT volume increased from 0 to 15mm(3), while the mean size of EMTfrom 55 to 77mm(3) (data from EMT measurements in 10 experimental rats). After treatment of animals with B-DNIC with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (10mol/kg) known for its ability to penetrate easily through the cell membrane, the inhibiting effect on EMT growth diminished as could be evidenced from the transformation of 30% of the implants into large-size EMT. Possible reasons for this phenomenon are discussed.