Effect of atrazine on hemopoietic system.

: For a long time some pesticides (chlordane, lindane, DDT) have been associated with bone marrow aplasia. Little is known on the toxic activity of the herbicides s-triazines on hemopoiesis. We studied the effect of one of these compounds (atrazine) on mouse hemopoietic progenitors (CFU-S and GM-CFC) and on peripheral blood (leukocytes and reticulocytes) after a single i.p. injection of 58.65 mg/kg. The peripheral blood leukocyte level was not modified; on the contrary, reticulocytes dropped severely but recovered promptly. Hemopoietic progenitors were severely hit but they recovered and reached normal levels in a few days. Our results demonstrate a hemotoxic effect of atrazine. However, more data are needed, especially in experiments with chronic exposure.