The influence on the formation of unstable haemoglobin by the immunomodulating 2-cyanaziridines azimexone and BM 41.332 in mice.

Azimexone causes in mice the formation of unstable haemoglobins after a single dose of 20 mg/kg. BM 41.332, another immunomodulating drug of the 2-cyanaziridine class, induces these unstable haemoglobins only after a single oral administration of 500 mg/kg. Subsequently to the formation of unstable haemoglobins we observed a development of Heinz bodies. These effects of the 2-cyanaziridines were elicited neither by methaemoglobin formation nor by an impairment of the components protecting haemoglobin against oxidation (G6PD, catalase, glutathione). The elimination of the altered haemoglobin in the spleen could be followed by measurement of the rise in the iron content of the spleen.