Investigation of crocin’s protective effect on cyclophosphamide-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis defects in adult female rats

ABSTRACT

Cyclophosphamide is a drug used in chemotherapy. However, it has side effects, including changes in reproductive system functioning. Some herbal compounds can reduce the harmful effects of cyclophosphamide. This study aims to investigate the protective role of crocin against changes caused by Cyclophosphamide in ovarian tissue through changes in the expression of genes involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This experimental study was performed on 24 adult female Wistar rats. Mice were divided into four groups (normal saline, 30 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, 100 mg/kg crocin and 30 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, and 200 mg/kg crocin and 30 mg/kg cyclophosphamide). At the end of the treatment period, the hypothalamus and ovaries were also removed to evaluate ob-Rb, ob-Ra, and NPY genes expression using real-time PCR and histological changes in the ovaries. Data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software. The expression of genes, number of follicles, and follicle diameter significantly decreased in the cyclophosphamide-treated groups compared with the control group. In the crocin and cyclophosphamide-treated groups, drug-induced reproductive complications were mitigated. The current findings indicate that by increasing the expression of genes ob-Rb, ob-Ra, and NPY, crocin could modulate the harmful effects of cyclophosphamide.

KEYWORDS:

• Chemotherapy
• crocin
• cyclophosphamide
• gene expression
• hypothalamus

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Research Council of Behbahan Faculty of Medical Sciences for financial support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

DZ Conceived the study; OO Performed animal handling; ESH and NY Performed assay, data analysis, and manuscript preparation; VZ and MHS Supervised.

Additional information

Funding

This study is a part of the research proposal [Grant Number: 97142]s which the Behbahan Faculty of Medical Sciences supported, and the protocol for this research project has been approved by Ethics Committee [approval number: IR.BEH.REC.1397.008].