Effects of vincristine on normal and stimulated megakaryocytopoiesis in the rat.

Vincristine was given to rats in which thrombocytopoiesis was either normal or acutely or chronically stimulated by injections of heterologous antiplatelet serum. A single dose of 0.3 mg/kg was given intravenously. The drug produced an early and a delayed megakaryocytopenia suggesting that it was toxic to differentiated megakaryocytes as well as to proliferating stem cells. The results support the hypothesis that vincristine-induced thrombocytosis may be due to homeostatic adjustments which, in turn, are activated as a result of drug-induced cytotoxicity.