P-230: Low Pregnancy Rate in Female Rats Mated by Male Rats Exposed to Acyclovir

Background: Acyclovir [9-(2-hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine; ACV], an acyclic nucleoside analogue, has shown a potent antiviral activity. It is known to inhibit the replication of herpes viruses including herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), varicellazoster virus, and Epstein-Barr virus in cell cultures and in animals. ACV is khown to be toxic to gonads,then the aim of the present study was to evaluate effect of ACV on potential fertility in rat. Materials and Methods: In this study thirty-two adult male wistar rats (220 ± 20 g) were randomly divided into four groups (n=8 each) with one group serving as control sham (distilled water i.p.), in the drug treated groups Acyclovir administered (4, 16, 48 mg/kg/day i.p.) for 15 days . 11 days after the last injection four males from each group was placed in an individual cage with two super-ovulated same strain females. The presence of vaginal plugs and as well observation of sperm in the smears in the following morning was an indication, that mating had occurred and this was designated day 1 of gestation. The number of pergnent female rats bred to ACV treated male rats and untreated rats and also the number of offspring was recorded. Results: Female mated by male rats exposed to ACV showed significantly lower pregnancy rate. There were no significant changes in the mean number of the offspring at any dose-level of ACV in comparsion with those of control sham group. Conclusion: Taking collectively, present study suggests that ACV plays negative roles on reproductive system and function in male rats.