Change of lipid peroxide levels in mouse organs after adriamycin administration.

Abstract
The influence of adriamycin (ADR), a cardiotoxic anthracycline antitumor antibiotic, on lipid peroxide levels in tissues of male CDF1 strain mice was investigated by using thiobarbituric acid fluorophotometry. The body wt of mice decreased markedly after i.p. injection of ADR at a dose of 15 mg/kg. The loss reached 25% of the initial weight on the 6th day. The relative weight of organs such as the heart, liver, kidney and spleen decreased, with a minimum on the 4th day. The lipid peroxide levels in the heart, liver, kidney and spleen increased rapidly, reaching a peak on the 4th day. The lipid peroxide level in the heart increased by 2.6-fold on the 4th day and the level was maintained, despite subsequent decreases in the liver and kidney. No increase of lipid peroxide levels in the serum and lung was observed after ADR injection in mice. ADR had a greater lipid peroxide-increasing effect in mice than daunomycin at the same dose.