Study of high deprenyl dose on the preimplantation embryo development and lymphocyte DNA in rat

To investigate the role of potent MAO-B inhibitor deprenyl in fertilized females, we have evaluated the effect of chronic treatment with deprenyl at a high dosage on preimplantation embryo development and DNA damage in blood lymphocytes in Wistar rats. We have found that the number of embryos isolated from both uterus and oviduct per rat was significantly lower in the experimental group. Almost 14% of embryos in experimental animals were flushed from oviducts compared to 1.95% of those in the control rats. Morphological analysis of embryos isolated from deprenyl-treated animals had revealed impaired rates in the distribution pattern compared with controls. But deprenyl administration had no significant effect on the mean number of cells in morulae or even blastocysts. On the other hand, analysis of cell number distribution in blastocysts using the chi-square test indicated a significantly decreased cell proliferation in the experimental group. Despite the harmful impact of deprenyl on rat preimplantation embryo development, deprenyl administration significantly decreased the DNA damage in blood lymphocytes as was scored employing Comet Assay. Our description of the adverse effects of deprenyl administration on rat preimplantation embryo development compared to the protective effects on the lymphocyte DNA is very important because deprenyl is still widely used in human medicine as a treatment. Potential mechanisms mediating deprenyl-induced impaired preimplantation embryo development are proposed.