ABSTRACT
Doxorubicin [Dox] is an anthracycline antibiotic, with a wide spectrum of antitumor activity . Dox as a chemotherapeutic agent is highly toxic . L-carnitine and B-carotene have recently been shown to have high antioxidative properties. This study is an attempt to evaluate the heart and testes responses after Dox injection with or without exogenous L-carnitine or B-carotene protection . Male albino rats, body weight 150-180gm, were divided into nine groups : cont. Dox [therapeutic dose], carnitine, carotene, carnitine plus Dox, carotene plus Dox, Dox [single dose], Dox [single dose] plus carnitine, Dox [single dose] plus carotene .Dox was injected I. P. at a therapeutic dose of 2mg/Kg/b.w. [twice weekly for two weeks], and as a single dose of 15 mg/kg /b.w. Carnitine and carotene were administered I. P. at a dose of 200 mg/kg b.w. and 30 mg/kg b.w. respectively . The experimental period was two weeks . One day after the last dose, the animals were sacrificed and their hearts and testes were dissected . Testicular and cardiac damage were determined histologically and histochemicaly by light and transmission electron microscopes .Dox induced cardiac damage manifested as vacuolar and fatty degeneration, interstitial fibrosis and loss of myoflbrils. Ultrastructurally variation in mitochondrial size and shape with destruction and vacuolization were noticed. On the other hand, Dox induced testicular alterations consisting of cytoplasmic vacuolization, spermatocytes fragmentation and necrosis with large vacuoles in the seminiferous epithelium. Ultrastructurally spermatocytes exhibited ill defined plasma membrane, damaged mitochondria and increase in myelin figure together with abnormal sperms. The histochemical investigations revealed a relative decrease in DNA, protein and PAS reactions, in the cardiac myocytes and in the spermatogenic and interstitial cells of Dox treated rats . However, these alterations became less severe in the protected groups, in both heart and testes suggesting L- Carnitine and B- Carotene as possible protectors against Doxtoxicity