Dinitrosyl iron complexes with glutathione suppress experimental endometriosis in rats

Dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNIC) with glutathione exert a cytotoxic effect on endometrioid tumours in rats with surgically induced experimental endometriosis. Intraperitoneal treatment of rats (Group 1) with DNIC (12.5 μmoles/kg, daily, for 12 days), beginning with day 4 after the surgical operation (implantation of two 2 mm-thick uterine fragments onto the abdominal wall) followed by 14-day keeping of animals on a standard feeding schedule (without medication) resulted in complete inhibition of the growth of endometrioid implants (EMI) in the majority of experimental animals. The ratio of mean EMI volumes in control and experimental rats of Group 1 was 14:1. In Group 2 rats, the use of a similar treatment protocol 4 weeks after surgery changed this ratio to 1.4:1. Noteworthy, the decrease of this ratio was irrelevant to deceleration of EMI growth at later periods after surgery. The histopathological analysis of EMI samples from experimental rats of Group 2 demonstrated complete disappearance of endometrial cysts suggesting a cytotoxic effect of DNIC on the tumours. The data obtained demonstrate that DNIC with glutathione and, probably, with other thiol-containing ligands hold considerable promise in the design of drugs for treating endometriosis in female patients.