Anti-nidatory effect of vaginally administered fumagillin in the rhesus monkey

In the present study, fumagillin, which is an antibiotic with potent angiostatic activity secreted from Aspergillus fumigatus was administered intravaginally during peri-implantation stage in the rhesus monkey and its effects on ovarian function, blastocyst implantation and pregnancy outcome in the rhesus monkey were investigated. Female monkeys (n = 18) showing normal menstrual cycles were vaginally inserted with tampons containing fumagillin (0 mg/animal in group 1; 1 mg/animal in group 2; 2 mg/animal in group 3; 4 mg/animal in group 4) on cycle day 20 of the mated treatment cycle, and these were removed on day 26 of the treatment cycle. Pregnancy was found to occur in animals treated with 1 mg and 2 mg fumagillin. However, animals treated with 4 mg fumagillin remained non-pregnant along with decreased (p <0.001) concentration of progesterone in circulation during the luteal period compared with that in normal, non-mated, ovulatory cycle.