New advances in the use of melatonin as a fertoprotective agent during chemotherapy

OUBIÑA, GONZALO; PASCUALI NATALIA; SCOTTI LEOPOLDINA; BIANCHI MARIA SILVIA; MAY, MARÍA; HERRERO YAMILA; ABRAMOVICH DALHIA; PARBORELL, FERNANDA

Congreso; XXIII Jornadas Anuales de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones Clínicas (SAIC) junto a SAFIS, y Nanomed; 2021

Melatonin (MEL) is a neurohormone with a potent antioxidant activity. Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a pathology defined as the depletion of the ovarian reserve; one of its causes is chemotherapy. Currently treatments for POF have proven to be ineffective. The aim of the present study is to assess whether MEL can protect ovaries from chemotherapy-induced gonadotoxicity using a mice model of POF induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX). Previously, we have reported that MEL enhances the % of antral follicles, diminishes the % of atretic follicles and increases SOD1 expression in POF model. To induce POF, CTX was administered (75 mg/kg, i.p.) to F1 mice (C57XBalbC, 6-8 weeks old) on day 1. CTX+MEL group also received MEL (15 mg/kg, i.p.) on days 1, 6 and 11. Animals were sacrificed on day 15 and their ovaries processed for histological analysis. Data was analysed by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test.Histopathological analysis of ovarian sections showed that CTX caused fibrotic foci and blood vessel hyalinization; MEL decreased these parameters. IHC for AMH (ovarian reserve marker) showed that CTX diminished the % of follicles expressing AMH compared to control (p