Biochemical and pathological study of protective effect of vitamin a in Azathioprine - Induced pancreas toxicity in rat

Azathioprine (AZA) is the most widely used immunosuppressive drug for preventing graft rejection and
autoimmune disease. However, the therapeutic treatment induces several side effects such as toxicity to bone
marrow, pancrease, liver and gastrointestinal tract. One of the major functions of Vitamin A is to act as a natural
antioxidant by scavenging free radicals. Considering the kind of Azathioprine-induced damage in Pancrease tissue,
we decided to study the protective effect of Vitamin A against Azathiprine-induced toxicity. Forty Male Wistar rats
were divided into 4 groups (each group contains 10 rats). Group 1 was control group and only took normal saline.
Groups 2 & 3 were administrated daily use of Vitamin A for 7 days I.M. and Group 4 was administrated with
normal saline instead of Vitamin A in same condition as groups 2&3. In the last day groups 3 & 4 were
administrated with single dose of AZA, 15 mg/kg (IP). After 24 hours, we took the animals blood and tissue samples
and studied them for biochemical and pathological examinations. This study showed that Azathioprine-induced
damage on pancrease in group 3 is less than that in group 4 while the function of organ in group 3 is nearly the same
as control group. Also vitamin A decreases Azathioprine-induced toxicity on pancrease in rats. With Regard to
importance of Azathioprine-induced damage, the usage rate of this drug in medicine, and the results of this study,
we suggest that co-administration of Azathioprine and vitamin A decreases the toxicity of this drug