The effct of CDDP on constructive properties of rabbit tracheal cartilage

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of anticancerdrug, CDDP, on tracheal cartilage in rabbits was examined. We measured the stress (S) at the yieldpoint as a physical index in compressive fracture test and quantified the chemical composition, % H₂O, calcium content (Ca), hydroxyproline (Hyp), glycosaminoglycan (GAG) as a mucopolysaccharide, glucosamine (Glc) as an oligosaccharide composed of GAG, valine (Val) as an aminoacid related to composition of tracheal cartilage.
We performed a preliminary experiment with 29 rabbits from 1 to 118 weeks in age and confirmed the stability phase as the 3rd phase which was over 27.5 weeks. Therefore, we used only 29 weeks rabbits in the actual experiment. S was significantly lower in experimental group 4 (1.6-2.2 mg/kg) that is effective dose in cancer therapy than control group (p < 0.05). S value showed the dose dependency and an indirect significant correlation was found between the CDDP dose (X) and stress (Y) (Y =-0.123X +1.96, p <0.03). A significant correlation was not found between % H₂O, GAG, Hyp, Ca and the CDDP dose, but a direct significant correlation was found between Glc, Val (Y) and CDDP dose (X) (Y =0.037X +0.248, p<0.03, Y = 0.124X +1.29, p <0.01). An indirect significant correlation was found between S (Y) and Glc, Val (X) (Y = e^-1.55x + 1.33, p<0.01, Y=-0.32X + 2.40, p<0.05).
We conclude that CDDP therapy may change the composition of the cartilage matrix and reduce the tension of the cartilage.