Effects of the association of beta-glucan and itraconazole on fertility of male Wistar rats / Efeitos da associação de beta-glucana e itraconazol sobre a fertilidade de ratos Wistar machos

ABSTRACT

Background: In recent years, the number of patients with systemic fungal infections requiring antifungal therapy has increased. As a consequence, antimicrobial resistance to conventional treatment is frequently reported. Due to this reason, new therapies emerge, including the combination of beta (1-3) glucan and itraconazole. However, the reproductive and fertility effects of this association were not known. So, the aim of this study was to identify the effects of the combination of itraconazole and beta (1-3) glucan, extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, on male rats fertility. Materials, Methods & Results: Sixty male Wistar rats with 120-days-old were used. The experimental protocol was approved by Ethics Committee on Animal Use of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (protocol CEUA/UFRGS no. 19452/2010). The animals were placed into six groups (n = 10 animals / group) as following Negative Control group - treated daily with the volume corresponding to 10 mL.kg-1 of sterile distilled water orally and 0.25 mL of sterile normal saline (NaCl 0.9 %) subcutaneously weekly; Itraconazole (IT) group - treated daily with itraconazole solution at a dose of 10 mg.kg-1 orally and 0.25 mL of sterile 0.9% NaCl subcutaneously weekly; Beta group - treated daily with the volume corresponding to 10 mL. kg-1 of sterile distilled water orally and 0.5 mg of beta (1-3) glucan subcut

RESUMO

Nos últimos anos, observou-se aumento do número de pacientes com risco de infecções fúngicas sistêmicas, tais como portadores de HIV, distúrbios hematológicos graves ou imunossuprimidos, pacientes oncológicos e receptores de transplantes. Tais pacientes necessitam de antifúngicos tanto na forma terapêutica como preventiva. Em contrapartida a estes usos, tornaram-se frequentes os relatos de resistência aos fármacos mais utilizados, incluindo o itraconazol. Esta resistência é bastante relevante nos casos envolvendo o gênero Candida, e descrita com outros agentes, como Sporothrix schenckii e Aspergillus fumigatus, em humanos e animais. Nos casos de resistências aos antifúngicos tradicionais, novas alternativas terapêuticas foram buscadas; dentre essas, a associação de ß-glucana, estimulante do sistema imunológico, a antifúngicos tradicionais, mostram-se promissora. Contudo, não existem estudos sobre os efeitos dessa associação sobre o sistema reprodutivo. [...]