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Updated: May 14, 2026
Culture and Co-Culture of Mouse Ovaries and Ovarian Follicles
Published on: March 17, 2015
Chemoprotective effect of ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, and selenium on cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity in the rat
Seren Gülşen Gürgen1, Deniz Erdoğan, Ciğdem Elmas
1Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Vocational Health Service, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey. serengurgen@yahoo.com
Objective:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the protective efficacy of ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, and selenium by measuring the glutathione (GSH) levels and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) expression in the ovarian tissues of rats treated with cyclophosphamide (CP) therapy.
Methods:
Female Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups of 6 rats each: (I) control, (II) only CP, (III) CP + ascorbic acid, (IV) CP + α-tocopherol, and (V) CP + selenium. Immunohistochemical stainings and GSH protocol were then applied.
Results:
Following CP administration, the rats exhibited significantly lower GDF-9 expression in oocytes and PCNA expression in granulosa cells of follicles in all stages of development (P < 0.05). In CP + antioxidant groups (Groups III, IV, V), GDF-9 immunoreaction in oocytes and PCNA immunoreaction in granulosa cells of the developing follicles were found to show an increase towards the levels observed in the control group (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
CP was found to cause remarkable degenerative effects in normal ovarian tissue, and we believe that this damage can be reduced and ovarian tissue can be spared from the toxic effects of CP by using antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, and selenium.
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