Effect of Clarithromycin administration on pregnant albino rats during the cleavage period of gestation and on their embryos

Background: Clarithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic used to treat common infections including respiratory tract, skin and Helicobacter pylori. This work investigates whether the administration of clarithromycin to pregnant females during the cleavage phase of gestation was associated with a risk of miscarriages and offspring morphological malformation and skeletal anomalies, histological changes and DNA fragmentation of embryos and liver of pregnant rats. Two major groups of pregnant albino rats were used. The animals of the control group received distilled water from the 1[st] to 7[th] days of gestation.One subgroup [C1] was sacrificed on the 8[th] day; and the other [C2] was sacrificed on the 20[th] day of gestation. The treated group was drenched 45 mg/kg clarithromycin [therapeutic dose] suspension from 1[st] to 7[th] day of gestation. The first subgroup [T1] was sacrificed on the 8th day and the other [T2] was sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation

Results: The obtained results showed a decrease in maternal body weight gain, increase in the rate of abortion, resorption and growth retardation of fetuses and some malformation in the skeletal system of the treated group. Histopathological studies of pregnant and fetal rats revealed congestion and dilatation of the central vein, fatty degeneration of the hepatocytes and severe DNA fragmentation

Histological study and DNA changes in the kidneys of rat fetuses maternally treated with Clarithromycin

Introduction: macrolide antibiotics are a class of potent and well established antimicrobials that also possess anti-inflammatory and/or immunomodulatory properties. Because of their size, lower levels of macrolides are able to reach the developing fetuses

Materials and method: the pregnant rats were orally administered with clarithromycin at early and late gestational periods. The 20 day-old fetuses were dissected for excision of the kidney. Half of the kidney was processed and stained with H and E, PAS, Masson's trichrome and Feulgen techniques then followed by morphometric measurements and statistical study. The other half of the kidney was preserved for DNA fragmentation assay.Results: This study revealed that clarithromycin administration to pregnant rats showed different histopathological, histochemical and DNA changes in the kidneys of their fetuses

Conclusion: Administration of the antimicrobial agent; clarithromycin at early and late gestational periods exhibits nephrotoxicity in the developing fetuses