Abstract
This study was to investigate single and repeated-dose toxicities of CJ-11555, an anticirrhotic agent, in Sprague-Dawley (SO) rats. In single-dose oral toxicity study, the test article were administered once by gavage to males and females at dose levels of 0 and 2,000 mg/kg. No dead animals and abnormal necropsy findings were found in control and CJ-11555 treated group. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose of CJ-11555 was considered to be higher than 2,000 mg/kg in rats. In the 4-week repeated oral toxicity study, the test article was administered once daily by gavage to male and female rats at dose levels of 0, 10, 50 and 200 mg/kg/day for 4-weeks. In clinical signs, yellow-colored urine and yellow hair coat were observed in the 50 and 200 mg/kg male and female groups. In hematology, erythrocyte count and hemoglobin were significantly decreased in the 200mg/kg male and female groups. In serum biochemistry, total cholesterol was significantly increased and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was significantly decreased in the 50 or 200 mg/kg male and female groups. In histopathological examinations, centrilobular hepatocellular hypertrophy in the liver, congestion and pigmentation in the spleen, hyaline droplets in the kidney were observed in the 50 and 200 mg/kg male and female groups. In toxicokinetic study, CJ-11555 was dose-dependent in systemic exposure and showed better absorption in female with minimum accumulation after multidosing. Based on these results, it was concluded that the 4-week repeated oral dose of CJ-11555 resulted in the suppression of AST activity and centrilobular hepatocellular hypertrophy in both sexes at a dose level of 50 or 200 mg/kg/day. The target organ was estimated to be liver, spleen and male's kidney. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for CJ-11555 in rats following gavage for at least 4-week is 10 mg/kg/day.