1977 Volume 68 Issue 3 Pages 281-285
The effect of leupeptin on the induction of lymphoblastic leukemia in ICR/JCL female mice by N-nitrosobutylurea (NBU) was investigated. NBU was given as a 0.02% solution in drinking water for 10 weeks. A 0.1% concentration of leupeptin was given in the diet. Group A was fed on the leupeptin diet from the beginning, Group B received it after the end of NBU treatment, and Group C was fed on a leupeptin-free control diet throughout. The average periods in the appearance of leukemia in groups A, B, and C were 115±50, 112±43, and 100±17 days (mean ± SD), respectively, and there was a significant difference between groups A and B and Group C at P<0.001. In regard to this point, leupeptin might have the effect of retarding the process of leukemogenesis. However, leupeptin showed no effect on the incidence and histopathological finding of leukemia.
