Adverse effects of ciprofloxacin on testis apoptosis and sperm….pdfVIP

Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.6. No.2. pp: 71-76, Spring 2008 Adverse effects of ciprofloxacin on testis apoptosis and sperm parameters in rats Arash Khaki1 D.V.M., Ph.D., Mahnaz Heidari2 M.Sc., Marefat Ghaffari Novin3 M.D., Ph.D., Amir Afshin Khaki4 Ph.D. 1 Department of Veterinary Pathology, Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. 2 Avesina Research Center, Tehran, Iran. 3 Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shaheed Beheshti University M.C., Tehran, Iran. 4 Department of Anatomical Science, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran. Received: 17 November 2007; accepted: 22 June 2008 Abstract Background: Ciprofloxacin is a commonly prescribed antibiotic in the treatment of genitourinary tract infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ciprofloxacin on testis apoptosis and sperm parameters in rat. Materials and Methods: Twenty male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into two groups; control (n=10) and experimental (n=10). The experimental group was orally received 12.5 mg/kg ciprofloxacin daily for 60 days and the control group just received water and food. Rats were then killed and sperm removed from cauda epididymis and analyzed for sperm motility, morphology, and viability. Testis tissues were also removed and prepared for TUNEL assay to detect apoptosis. Results: Results showed that ciprofloxacin significantly decreased the sperm concentration, motility (p0.05) and viability (p0.001). In addition, ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the number of spermatogenic cel