Toxicity of the selective antitumor agent 5-aziridino-2,4-dinitrobenzamide in the rat

The toxicity of 5-aziridino-2,4-dinitrobenzamide (CB 1954) in the rat at the LD50 dose level resembled the majority of antimitotic agents in causing enteritis, but there was less bone marrow depression than usual. At the minimum toxic dose both of these effects were absent, and the tissues affected were the urinary tract and the liver. In the urinary tract areas of transitional epithelium were replaced by a single layer of macronuclear cells. The main pathologic change in the liver was centrilobular venous thrombosis. With chronic dosage the most serious toxic effect was cataract formation which was associated with, but not necessarily the result of, destruction of lens epithelium.