The immunosuppressive activity of procarbazine hydrochloride in canine renal allografts by donor pretreatment

The cytotoxic drug procarbazine hydrochloride, when given to the donor prior to allografting, modifies the histological pattern of the rejection process in canine renal allografts. This was due mainly to reducing the amount of the infiltrating cells in the renal parenchyma and was associated with good renal function and good renal plasma flow. Despite the decreased immunogenicity of the organ, treated recipients did not have significant prolongation of their survival time due to the toxicity of the drug. In this study, toxicity appeared mainly as gastroenteritis and not consistently as bone marrow depression. Man, however, has better tolerance of the drug and these observations need further evaluation for application to human transplantation.