Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences of Yazd
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 (p<0.05) and viability (p<0.001). In addition,
ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the
number of spermatogenic cells (spermatogonia, spermatocyte, spermatid
and sperm) in the seminiferous tubules when compared with the control
group. The apoptotic germ cells per seminiferous tubular cross section
was significantly increased in the experimental group
(15.11±3.523) as compared with the control group (7.3±0.762)
(p<0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that ciprofloxacin has the
toxicological effects on reproductive system in male rats
