Radio-Protective Effects of Some bis-Thiosemicarbazone Compounds

Background: GTS, PTSM and ATSM are bis-thiosemicarbazone ligands used in the preparation of copper radiopharmaceuticals. Chemical structure of these materials indicates that they should have radio-protective effects.Objective: To study the radio-protective effects of GTS, PTSM and ATSM. Methods: This study has focused on radio-protective effects of these compounds at different doses (20, 40 and 80 μg) and with time intervals of 1 and 4 h before the whole-body gamma-irradiation. The survival curves were plotted for different groups after one month post-irradiation. The effective doses of these compounds were also calculated from the survival study. In the next step, biochemical markers of hepatic function, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were determined in a hepatotoxicity study. Results: Administration of ATSM did not cause any serious side effects and hepatotoxicity in a mice model—AST and ALT enzyme levels in a group of animals that received 80 μg of ATSM showed no significant difference with that in the control group. However, AST and ALT enzymes rose significantly in those mice that received 40 μg of GTS compared to the control group even 7 days post-injection. Conclusion: It seems that ATSM is a better candidate on which to carry out further research for protection against irradiation.