Stimulation of hematopoietic cell recovery by tetrachlorodecaoxide in sublethally irradiated mice.

This study investigated whether tetrachlorodecaoxide (TCDO), a potent wound-healing agent, promotes recovery of hematopoietic tissue of mice depleted by sublethal X irradiation. Mice were exposed to 3 Gy total-body irradiation and were given 1 ml/kg TCDO intravenously daily from day 1 to 5 or day 4 to 8 after irradiation. The effect was assessed by the change in the total number of nucleated cells in bone marrow and spleen, endogenous spleen colony formation, and 30-day mouse lethality. In the spleen there were profound effects on spleen weight, total organ cellularity, and endogenous colony formation. The TCDO produced radiation dose-modifying factors between 1.4 and 1.5 for endogenous spleen colony formation in mice primed with 3 Gy and reirradiated 4 days after treatment. This stimulated cellular recovery resulted in an increased protection of mice from lethality caused by subsequent total-body irradiation by factors of 1.12-1.18. The results show that TCDO is a potent stimulator of cellular recovery in the spleen of sublethally irradiated mice.