Endogenous degradation of DNA and chromatin in rat liver nuclei after in vivo treatment with cis- and trans-diamminedichloroplatinum (II).

Rat liver nuclei were isolated from untreated and treated animals in vivo with cis- and trans-diamminedichloroplatinum (II). Comparative gel electrophoresis of rat liver DNA extracted from incubated nuclei revealed that endogenous degradation of DNA was significantly slower in the nuclei isolated from rats treated with the platinum complexes. The decrease in the rate of DNA degradation was more rapid with trans- than with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II). This in vivo effect of platinum complexes does not correlate with their antitumour activity.