Uptake and distribution of daunorubicin and daunorubicin-DNA complex in mice as studied by whole-body autoradiography and liquid chromatography.

The tissue distribution of daunorubicin (D) and daunorubicin-DNA complex (D-DNA) was studied in mice by means of whole-body autoradiography (WBA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A higher accumulation of radioactivity in the blood after 1 min and a lower initial accumulation in the cardiac muscle were found after administration of 3H-D-DNA than after the infection of free drug. Comparative studies of plasma levels of daunorubicin and daunorubicinol (DOH) in D- and D-DNA-treated animals by HPLC showed that the initial differences were negligible from 2 h onward. A rapid accumulation of D in bone marrow occurred in both D- and D-DNA-treated mice. D reached its maximum level after 1 h and was almost constant for 12 h. A new WBA finding was a rapid and specific accumulation of radioactivity in the pituitary gland, in the thyroid, and in the pancreatic islets, which might be of some interest in consideration of possible late endocrine side effects of anthraquinone glycoside therapy.