Assessment of Fertility in Female Offspring of Stressed Male Rats Treated with Sulpiride

Chronic stress has detrimental effects on reproductive system. Offspring are likely to be vulnerable to adverse effects from antipsychotic medication and stress transmitted through gonads and gametes. The present study aimed to investigate the fertility of female rats from male rats treated with sulpiride because of chronic physical or psychological stress.

In this experimental study, 36 adult male Wistar rats weighing 190±10 g were divided into six groups: control, sulpiride (the antagonist of dopamine D2 receptors) (4mg/kg,bw,ip), physical or psychological stress, and physical or psychological stress that received sulpiride. After 14 days, each male rat mated with three adult female rats. The female offspring of these rats were raised in normal conditions until adulthood. Then, the ovaries and body weight, and fertility of offspring were assessed using IVF.

The weight of the body and ovaries, percentage of egg cells, bicellular embryos, blastocysts, and hatched embryos after IVF, significantly reduced in offspring of stressed male rats compared with control group (P<0.05). Administration of sulpiride in male rats caused further reduction of these indices in IVF results of their female offspring (P<0.05). The percentage of arrested embryos did not differ significantly between the stress groups (P>0.05), but administration of sulpiride significantly increased that in all groups compared with saline groups (P<0.05).

Physical or psychological stress in parents reduced the fertility of female offspring and administration of sulpiride to parents exacerbated these disorders in offspring.