Intervenção farmacológica sobre o sistema serotoninérgico durante o desenvolvimento testicular pré-natal e neonatal de ratos Wistar utilizando cloridrato de fluoxetina

Abstract

Currently, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently prescribed antidepressants for the treatment of depression and major side effects in adults related to sexual dysfunction. Depressive disorders are common both during the prenatal period and early months after birth and fluoxetine is widely used to treat depression in this period. Until the present moment, no further study on the pharmacological intervention in the serotonin system during the critical period for testicular development in neonatal rats and the effects on the spermatogenic process in sexually mature rats was performed. We carried out 3 experiments using fluoxetine hydrochloride. In the first experiment observed the effect of direct administration of fluoxetine during postnatal testicular development in rats, but with assessment at 150 days of age. In this paper, we observed reduction in testicular weight gross and net volume of tubules and seminiferous epithelium. The tubular diameter was reduced in animals treated with 20 mg/Kg which caused an increase in total length of seminiferous tubules in this group. There were no histological changes in the population of Sertoli cells, daily sperm production and efficiency of the spermatogenic process. The second experiment studied the effects of transplacental transfer of fluoxetine and breast milk on the testicular development of prepubertal rats. In this experiment, were observed changes in the body weight development, in the testicular volumetric parameters and total length of seminiferous tubules, mainly in higher doses of fluoxetine. There was a trend of reduction of Sertoli cells population and delay in the appearance tubular lumen in animals exposed to higher dose. Inthe third experiment was used the same protocol of the second experiment, but the testis were performed in rats sexually mature. According to the results was observed that fetal and neonatal contact with fluoxetine during the critical period of Sertoli cells proliferation influenced the somatic development of animals and induced changes in testicular parameters, such as the weight of the epididymis and seminal gland, volumes of the seminiferous epithelium, the total Leydig cells volume, total length of seminiferous tubules and a trend of reduction in sperm production per testis. Although fluoxetine has interfered with the Leydig cells volumetry, were not observed changes in plasma levels of testosterone and spermatogenesis. Most of the changes were related to the group treated with the highest dosage of the antidepressant, 20 mg/kg, implying that this dosage fluoxetine may actually cause changes in somatic development and reproductive function.