Abstract
The study aim was to investigate the effect of dichloroacetate (DCA) on thymus and the thymocyte cycle in rats. Wistar male gonad-intact and castrated rats (4-5 weeks) were investigated in the following groups: (1) control; (2) treated with DCA; and (3) treated with the DCA and sodium valproate (NaVP) combination. Rats were treated for 4 weeks with DCA 200 mg/kg/day alone and 300 mg/kg/day of NaVP plus 200 mg/kg/day of DCA (every second week, beginning with NaVP). After the experiment, the thymus was weighted, and the thymus lobe was taken for thymocyte flow cytometry. In gonad-intact rats, the thymus weight of the control was higher than in rats treated with DCA (P <0.001) or with the NaVP-DCA combination (P <0.04); a comparison of thymus weight between DCA- and NaVP-DCA-treated groups revealed a higher thymus weight loss in the DCA-treated group (P <0.03). Flow cytometry shows that DCA treatment increased the percentage of cells in the G2-M phase (P <0.03) and reduced in G1-G0 (P <0.02). The DCA treatment effect was determined only in gonad-intact but not in castrated rats. The authors discuss the possible DCA and NaVP interaction mechanisms.