Effect of Adriamycin on α1β1, α1β4, and ανβ3 Expression in Rat Endometrium in Estrus Phase

Although the effect of adriamycin, a chemical drug used to treat cancer, is known to affect gametogenesis and ovarian function, the drug’s effect on endometrial receptivity and expression of integrin genes is unclear. To fill this gap, we aimed to investigate the effect of adriamycin on the expression of integrin genes that play a role in endometrial receptivity.

A total of 32 female rats weighing about 200 g were tested in the present study. The rats were divided into 4 groups: Healthy (sham), control, and experimental, with adriamycin at 4 mg/kg and 8 mg/kg doses for 6 weeks. Two weeks after the injection of adriamycin at an 8 mg/kg dose in the treatment group, all rats were sacrificed, but the treatment group with a 4 mg/kg dose of adriamycin continued the treatment. Then, the estrus phase was determined in the three groups using vaginal smears. The endometrial tissue was removed, and gene expression levels of α1β1, α1β4, and ανβ3 genes were evaluated using Real-time PCR methods in the three groups.

The rats’ weight decreased significantly in the treatment group with adriamycin. The process of weight loss was found to be dose-dependent. Integrin gene expression in the adriamycin group in the estrus phase had no significant difference compared with that in the control and sham groups (P>0.05). In the adriamycin group, the expression of integrin α1 increased significantly (P<0.05; P=0.013).

The expression of integrin genes did not change, except for integrin alpha1 (intgα1), during the estrus phase in the endometrium treated with adriamycin drug. Probably, adriamycin did not have any effect on the expression of integrin genes.