Evaluation of morphometric and morphofunctional parameters in the testis of fluoxetine treated and vitamin B12 supplemented rats

• Grant number: 13/04867-9
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal researcher: Estela Sasso Cerri
• Grantee: Talita Bonato de Almeida
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fluoxetine, an antidepressant used for treating depression, anxiety, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, belongs to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that this drug causes significant alterations in the histoarchitecture of the seminiferous epithelium and then in the spermatogenic process. Vitamin B12 promotes DNA synthesis and favors cellular proliferation. Thus, we proposed to evaluate if vitamin supplements will be able to soften the alterations caused by this drug in the fluoxetine-treated rats. Sixty adult male rats will be divided into four groups: vitamin B12 group (VitG), fluoxetine group (FG), fluoxetine+vitamin B12 group (FVitG), and control group (CG). The animals from VitG will receive intraperitoneal injections of 3µg of vitamin B12, the animals from FG will receive fluoxetine (20mg/Kg), the animals from FVitG will receive vitamin B12 (3µg) and fluoxetine (20mg/Kg), and the animals from CG will receive distilled water. The animals will be treated for 11 consecutive days. The testes will be fixed and processed for historesin and paraffin embedding. In historic sections, the total, epithelial and luminal areas as well as the Sertoli cell number will be evaluated. The differences among groups will be statistically analyzed. With the aim to evaluate the ubiquitination process in germ cells from FG, the paraffin sections will be subjected to the immunohistochemical reaction for the detection of ubiquitin. This protein targets undesirable proteins destined to be degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CAMARA, MARINA L.; ALMEIDA, TALITA B.; DE SANTI, FABIANE; RODRIGUES, BEATRIZ M.; CERRI, PAULO S.; BELTRAME, FLAVIA L.; SASSO-CERRI, ESTELA. Fluoxetine-induced androgenic failure impairs the seminiferous tubules integrity and increases ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1): Possible androgenic control of UCHL1 in germ cell death?. BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY, v. 109, p. 1126-1139, JAN 2019. Web of Science Citations: 2.