the active compounds disclosed herein can , as noted above , can be prepared in the form of their pharmaceutically acceptable salts . pharmaceutically acceptable salts are salts that retain the desired biological activity of the parent compound and do not impart undesired toxicological effects . examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts are discussed in berge et al ., 1977 , “ pharmaceutically acceptable salts ,” j . pharm . scl , vol . 66 , pp . 1 - 19 . the active compounds disclosed may also be prepared in the form of their solvates . the term “ solvate ” is used herein in the conventional sense to refer to a complex of solute ( e . g ., active compound , salt of active compound ) and solvent . if the solvent is water , the solvate may be conveniently referred to as a hydrate , for example , a hemihydrate , monohydrate , dihydrate , trihydrate , tetrahydrate , and the like . the invention further extends to prodrugs of the compounds of the present invention . a prodrug of any of the compounds can be made using well known pharmacological techniques . the present invention is further intended to encompass , in addition to the use of the above listed compounds , the use of homologues , derivatives and analogues of such compounds . in this context , homologues are molecules having substantial structural similarities to the above - described compounds and analogues are molecules having substantial biological similarities regardless of structural similarities . the invention further provides kits for carrying out the therapeutic regimens of the invention . such kits may comprise , in one or more containers , therapeutically or prophylactically effective amounts of the compositions of the invention in a pharmaceutically acceptable form . such kits may further include instructions for the use of the compositions of the invention , or for the performance of the methods of the invention , or may provide further information to provide a physician with information appropriate to treating blood cell depletion or conditions resulting therefrom . the present invention will now be described with reference to the following examples which are provided for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to be construed as being limiting on the present invention . the present invention will make reference to the following figures , wherein : fig1 shows a graph illustrating b lymphocyte function following administration of ipa , and fig2 shows a graph illustrating t lymphocyte function following administration of ipa . riboflavin , nitroblue tetrazolium ( nbt ), reduced glutathione ( gsh ), s - s ′ dithiobis ( 2 - nitrobenzoic acid ) ( dtnb ), and 1 - chloro - 2 , 4 - dinitrobenzene ( cdnb ) were obtained from sisco research laboratories pvt . ltd , mumbai , india . thiobarbituric acid was purchased from hi - media laboratories , mumbai , india , 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethoxy propane was supplied from sigma - aldrich usa . all other chemicals and reagents used in this study were of analytical grade . oltipraz was supplied by the contractor canopus corp . inbred 4 - 6 weeks old female swiss albino mice ( 20 - 30 g ) were obtained from small animal breeding station , kerala agricultural university , mannuthy , thrissur . animals were kept in well - ventilated cages under standard conditions of temperature , pressure and humidity . the animals were provided with normal mouse chow and water ad libitum . all animal experiments conducted during the present study got prior permission and followed the guidelines of institutional animal ethics committee ( iaec ). animals were treated with a single dose of radiation of 700 rads ( 7gy ). the source of radiation was a 6 ° co theratron - phoenix teletherapy unit ( atomic energy ltd , canada ). animals were restrained in specially designed , well - ventilated cages without anesthesia and exposed to whole body radiation at a rate of 1 . 33 gy / min in a field size of 25 × 25 cm 2 and at a distance of 80 cm from the source . twenty - four mice were randomly divided into three groups of 8 animals each . group i was treated as irradiated control served with vehicle . group ii was treated with oltipraz ( 50 mgs / kg b wt ) ten days prior to irradiation . group iii was administered oltipraz ( 50 mgs / kg b . wt ) ten days prior to irradiation and continued for another fifteen days after irradiation . all the three groups were irradiated with a single dose of 750 rads . body weights of all the animals were determined one day prior to irradiation and every third day thereafter . blood was collected from tail vein into heparinized tubes and the following parameters were analyzed one day before radiation and every third day thereafter . the parameters analyzed were total wbc count ( haemocytometer method ), differential count ( leishman &# 39 ; s staining method ) and haemoglobin by drabkin &# 39 ; s method ). determination of effect of oltipraz on bone marrow viability and antioxidant parameters of irradiated animals . thirty six animals were divided into four groups of nine animals each . for group 1 to 4 treatment protocol were similar as described above . group 4 was treated as normal animals without any treatment . on days 5 , 10 and 15 after irradiation ( 750 ) rads three animals from each group was sacrificed . blood was collected to heparinized tubes , and plasma was removed and following parameters were assayed in the blood . activity of the enzyme sod was measured by nbt reduction method of mccord and fridovich . cat activity was estimated by the method of aebi by measuring the rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at 240 nm . level of gsh was assayed by the method of moron et al based on the reaction with dtbn . assay of gpx followed the method of hafeman based on the degradation of h 2 o 2 in the presence of gsh . the method of habig was followed to assay the activity of gst based on the rate of increase in the conjugate formation between gsh and cdnb . the femurs of three above animals were dissected out and bone marrow cells were flushed into phosphate buffered saline ( ph 7 . 4 ) containing 2 % foetal calf serum . the cells were washed and bone marrow viability was determined by the method of sredni . the results were expressed as number of live bone marrow cells × 10 ( 6 )/ femur . the liver of the sacrificed animals were excised quickly washed in ice - cold saline and kept at − 70 ° c . till the day of analysis . on the day of analysis 25 % homogenate was pre - pared in tris - hcl buffer ( 0 . 1 m , ph 7 . 4 ). the homogenate was centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 30 minutes and supernatant was used to determine the tissue lipid peroxide levels ( lpo ) using the tba method of okhawa et al . data was expressed as mean i standard deviation ( sd ). significance levels for comparison of differences were deter - mined using student &# 39 ; s t test . the mean of oltipraz treated group was compared with that of radiation alone treated group . the radiation alone treated group was then further compared with untreated group . the differences between means were considered to be statistically significant if p & lt ;− 0 . 001 . radiation treatment at the dose level used here did not produce a statistically significant reduction in the body - weight of the exposed animals . initial body weight of animals were 26 . 27 ± 3 . 76 , 23 . 92 ± 4 . 61 and 24 . 98 ± 3 . 76 respectively for group i , ii and iii . on day 6 body weight was reduced to 21 . 82 ± 3 . 34 , 21 . 02 ± 4 . 14 and 21 . 10 ± 2 . 51 respectively ( p & gt ; 0 . 05 ). radiation significantly lowered the total leukocyte count in irradiated animals . administration of oltipraz was found to increase the count . in the initial days after irradiation both group ii ( oltipraz pre treated group ) and group iii ( oltipraz continuously administered group ) showed almost similar number of wbc . but at later days after irradiation , group iii showed a significantly elevated wbc as compared with group i ( radiation alone treated group ) and group ii . this indicated that continuous oltipraz administration stimulated the haematopoietic system in a concentration dependent manner . this observation is further supported by the increased bone marrow viability found in - group iii . bone marrow viability in normal animals was ( group iv ) was 16 . 21 ± 0 . 45 × 10 6 cells / femur . bone marrow viability was significantly decreased after irradiation . after the 15th day of post - irradiation group ii possessed a value of 6 . 1 × 10 6 cells / femur where as group ii and iii showed 5 . 82 × 106 and 14 . 32 × 10 6 cells / femur respectively . the haemoglobin levels were significantly reduced after irradiation . on day 6 radiation alone treated group had a hemoglobin level of 10 . 37 ± 3 . 19 where as oltipraz continuously administered group had a value of 12 . 42 ± 2 . 76 . the differential count did not show any significant variation . the activity of both sod and cat , two of the major enzymes involved in the antioxidant defence mechanism were found to be decreased after irradiation the continuous administration of oltipraz enhanced sod activity , which showed the maximum value on the 15th day after irradiation and cat on tenth day after irradiation . activity of gpx was also found to be decreased after whole body irradiation . continuous administration of oltipraz elevated the activity of gpx . on the 15th day after irradiation group i had an activity of 1254 . 00 ± 116 . 23 u / l of haemolysate whereas group iii showed an activity of 1927 . 87 ± 136 . 06 demonstrating that oltipraz administration stimulated gpx activity ( p & lt ;− 0 . 001 ). the levels of the major cellular antioxidant gsh increased after oltipraz administration . the levels of gsh were brought down after irradiation . on the 15th day the levels of gsh increased almost three times in oltipraz . continuously administered group as compared wit radiation alone treated group indicating that oltipraz administration elevated the gsh levels ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), it could be presumed that an increased level of anti - oxidant enzymes and gsh is a direct consequence of oltipraz administration and could be seen in un - irradiated animals as well . oltipraz administration also elevated the activity of gst , an enzyme involved in the glutathione mediated detoxification system . on the 15th day group iii showed an activity of 2 . 38 ± 0 . 25 ( nano - moles of cdnb - gsh conjugate formed ) ( p & lt ;− 0 . 01 ) where as group i had an activity of 1 . 51 ± 0 . 37 only . radiation increased the levels of lipid peroxidation in all the radiation treated animals . on day 15 , it was 3 . 47 ± 0 . 31 ( nano - moles of mda formed / mg of protein for group i , whereas in - group iii it was significantly reduced to a level of 2 . 12 ± 0 . 21 ( p & lt ;− 0 . 001 ). the patient was treated with a formula 2 compound and blood cell parameters were monitored . the sample size for this experiment was 1 , consisting of subject 1 . subject 1 is an immune comprised patient with multiple recurrent infectious bouts requiring hospitalization while in a nearly moribund condition began treatment with the experimental drug isopentyl adenosine ( ipa ). the subject had been hospitalized with avert life - threatening infections . the subject &# 39 ; s total white blood cell counts were in the range of 2200 - 4900 for the three month period preceding hospitalization . a t4 / t8 cell ratio of 50 / 270 ( 0 . 22 ) was observed two months earlier . the patient was hospitalized from depression , exhaustion , bronchial infection , severe diarrhoea , severe weight loss and complete loss of appetite and spiked fever . the patient &# 39 ; s weight was 98 pounds . the patient , although initially was very co - operative relative to receiving experimental ipa therapy , for no rational reasons at various times stopped ipa . the subject initially received ipa ( see fig1 and 2 ). t and b lymphocyte competence as measured by the ability of these cells to proliferate in response to specific stimulating mitogens ( pha for t cells and pwm for b cells ) which was monitored on a weekly basis until death . as shown in fig1 and 2 respectively the subject &# 39 ; s t and b lymphocyte competence on was well below normal . indeed , the competence of both these immune cell populations was less than the 1st percentile of normal donors ; that is , greater than 99 % of all normal donors historically tested (& gt ; 1460 normal donors in our laboratory ) had responses greater than the patient demonstrated . a major rapid recovery of both t and b lymphocyte competence was experienced within less than 7 days after initiation of ipa therapy . the levels of competence within 7 days of drug therapy initiation were above the lower limits - of the normal donor &# 39 ; s reactivity . this represented a remarkable recovery since patients receiving . most immune stimulating agents ( e . g ., bcg , levamisole ) exhibit a slower and less dramatic immune recovery capacity . the subject conscientiously continued to take constant oral doses of ipa . the subject felt cured and abruptly stopped taking the drug . no one except the subject and his friend were aware of this unilateral decision until several weeks later . fever and diarrhoea in the subject had completely subsided and the patient exhibited a 15 pound weight gain during this time . as shown in fig1 and 2 , at the time that the patient proclaimed self - cure and thus stopped all ipa medication , his t and b lymphocyte competence again dropped to less than 1 % or normal donors &# 39 ; competence . this was most dramatically observed with t lymphocyte function but was also observed in somewhat lagged fashion with b lymphocyte function . total wbc counts were in the range of 1650 to 2550 during the period . his peripheral blood showed 50 t4 cells and 220 t8 cells ( 0 . 23 ratio ). the patient stopped formula 2 ipa therapy for a few days . during this time both t and b lymphocyte competence rapidly bottomed out , the patient was hospitalized in for a 7 to 10 day period for severe bronchial infections and fever , diarrhoea , anxiety and weight loss . the subject resumed formula 2 ipa therapy at recommended dose levels . minor t lymphocyte competence returned during the following week ; b lymphocyte competence continued to decrease . within two weeks , t lymphocyte competence was again nearly within the normal range . although b lymphocyte competence was still somewhat depressed , this cell &# 39 ; s competence was also improving . within a month t lymphocyte competence had risen to well within the range of normal donor reactivity , while b lymphocyte competence was somewhat below lower normal limits . the subject &# 39 ; s personal status demonstrated a dramatic improvement ; he was periodically dining out with a large appetite , diarrhoea had lessened , fever had subsided , he was riding his bicycle daily and partaking in physical activities . the subject again stopped taking medication for a week without the physician &# 39 ; s knowledge . t lymphocyte competence again demonstrated a major sudden decrease to less than 1 % of normal donors &# 39 ; activity . the patient again exhibited spiked fever , acute diarrhoea and exhaustion . the subject again resumed formula 2 ipa therapy the following week , for one week , with one - half the recommended dosage taken . the subject &# 39 ; s t lymphocyte competence spiked dramatically to above the lower limit of the normal range . b lymphocyte actively demonstrated a slight rise . during the next week the dosage of ipa was greatly (& gt ; 3 ×) increased . t lymphocyte competence demonstrated depression suggesting immunotoxicity by ipa ; since a 33 % decreased dosage the following week resulted in t lymphocyte competence increasing once again . the patient stopped therapy during the next month , both t and b lymphocyte function fell to nil , as a direct consequence . the patient died approximately two weeks later suffering from acute bronchial infection accompanied with high fever , diarrhoea , exhaustion and weight loss . in conclusion , direct correlations were observed during the period of administration of formula 2 ipa with quality of life and depressed or elevated t and b lymphocyte function . enhanced t and b lymphocyte competence correlated well with continued formula 2 ipa medication ; optimum levels of competence appeared to be experienced at optimum ipa dose levels administered . since competent t and b lymphocyte function is required for combating microbial infections by the host , major infectious bouts correlated with times when competence was most severely compromised . the patient experienced 5 months of life with periods of excellent quality after initiation of formula 2 ipa therapy at a time when he was terminally moribund . it would appear that the patient would have enjoyed appreciable therapeutic benefits from formula 2 ipa , if he had conscientiously and continuously received ipa medication . if optimum dose levels had been more clearly established this would have presumably optimized quality and extension of life to a greater extend than was actually observed in this patient . all documents referred to in this specification are herein incorporated by reference . various modifications and variations to the described embodiments of the inventions will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments . indeed , various modifications of the described modes of carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be covered by the present invention . reference to any prior art in this specification is not , and should not be taken as , an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any country .
the present invention provides methods and compositions for the prophylaxis of blood cell disorders such as neutropenia , thrombocytopenia , lymphocytopenia , and anaemia . the invention provides methods wherein compositions comprising at least one cytokinin compound are administered either therapeutically or prophylactically . the invention further has utility in methods of dna repair .