The Comparative Effects of Granisetron on Angiogenesis in Male and Female rats

The aim of this study is comparative effects of granisetron on angiogenesis in male and female rats adopting air pouch as an experimental model. Air pouch type carrageenan-induced inflammation model on the back of the male and female wistar rats was used. To induce an air pouch, rats were anesthetized; 20 ml and 10 ml of sterile air were injected subcutaneously on the back on day 0 and day 3 respectively. On day 6, inflammation was induced by injection of 1 ml of carrageenan 1% into pouches. Treatment groups received 1 ml granisetron by doses of 50 – 200 μg / pouch. Three days after the injection of carrageenan solution, the rats were sacrificed by halothane overdose. The pouches were flushed with PBS and granulation tissues that formed were dissected and weighed. For measuring of angiogenesis in granulation tissue, drabkin reagent was added to the granulation tissues and after homogenization, centrifuging and filtering, the hemoglobin value in the supernatant was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring absorbance at 540 nm and compared against a standard curve of hemoglobin. Granisetron did not change angiogenesis in female rats. In male rat granisetron (50, 100 & 200 μg) decreased significantly (P<0.05, P<0.001 & P<0.05) hemoglobin level respectively The study confirms that the degree of angiogenesis induced in wistar rat air pouch model and the effects of granisetron on angiogenesis is gender-dependent, suggesting that gender may be a key consideration in the design of angiogenesis experiments.