Genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of the aglepristone, a progesteron antagonist, in mid-gestation pregnancy termination in rabbits

Abstract

Aglepristone is an antiprogestin using for pregnancy termination in veterinary medicine. The information about side effects of aglepristone is limited. The aim of the study was to investigate cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of aglepristone in mid-gestation pregnancy termination in rabbits. Fifteen New Zealand White rabbits were used and pregnant does were randomly divided into three groups. Group I (n=5) was treated with saline as the control. The does in group II (n=5) and group III (n=5) were treated with aglepristone (10 mg/kg) on 15th day and 15th-16th days of pregnancy, respectively. The rabbits were sacrificed by guillotine 24 h after last treatment. Bone marrow and blood samples were immediately collected. Cytotoxic and genotoxic potential were tested by micronucleus and Comet assays. No genotoxicity and cytotoxicity were found in micronucleus test with single aglepristone administration. In contrast, two consecutive treatments of aglepristone showed high genotoxic and cytotoxic effects on bone marrow in animals. While comet assay of blood samples did not show any significant difference between groups; the results from comet assay of bone marrow cells showed the single injection of aglepristone did not induce any DNA damage but two injections group increased the DNA damage.