The Effects of Decapeptyl on Morphology and Quantity of Neurons in Hippocampus of Mice Treated with Cyclophosphamide

Gonadotropin hormone (GnRH) is the first reproductive key hormone. Today, GnRH analogues are widely used in in-vitro fertilization and treatment of sex hormone-dependent cancers induced by the materials used in chemotherapy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of Decapeptyl (an analogue of GnRH) on neurons of hippocampus area in male mice. In this study, 24 male mice with a mean weight of 30 g were used. After the mice were adapted to the experimental conditions, they were divided into four groups. The first group was injected with intraperitoneal (ip) cyclophosphamide (65 mg/kg of body weight). The second group was injected with Decapeptyl (0.05 mg/kg of body weight). The third group was first treated with Decapeptyl for 10 days and then injected with ip cyclophosphamide with the same dose. In the control group, only sterile saline was injected using the same method. After a month, the mice were killed. The hippocampus area was separated from the brain and after being fixed in formalin 10%, tissue sections were prepared and stained with eosin, hematoxylin, and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) for microscopic studies. The results showed that DG, CA1, and CA3 areas of hippocampal neurons had some tissue changes. In mice that had received chemotherapy, more than 60% of the neurons in DG, CA1, and CA3 areas were necrotic, but there were a few neuronal necrotic in mice treated with Decapeptyl. The results of this study suggested that Decapeptyl has a supporting effect on hippocampal neuronal (hippocampus area neurons) damage in animals that received chemotherapeutic agents.