title: Studies on the reproductive effects of chronic treatment with agomelatine in the rat.
abstract: Agomelatine is an antidepressant with a novel mechanism of action. It is a melatonergic agonist for MT1 and MT2 receptors and a serotonin (5-HT2C) receptor antagonist. Agomelatine has been suggested not to have adverse effects on sexual functions. However, the effects of chronic agomelatine administration on reproductive functions have not been sufficiently studied in animal models. We mainly aimed to explore the effects of agomelatine on reproductive functions in the male and female rats. For the experimental studies, Sprague Dawley rats were used. The animals started to receive daily oral agomelatine (10mg/kg) on post-natal day 21. Agomelatine advanced vaginal opening in the female rats whereas it delayed puberty onset in the male rats. Agomelatine treatment significantly decreased intromission frequencies, which indicates a facilitator role of this antidepressant on male sexual behavior. In the forced swimming test (FST) used for assessing antidepressant efficacy, agomelatine induced a significant decrease in duration of immobility, and an increase in the swimming time, respectively, which confirms the antidepressant-like activity of agomelatine. The present findings suggest that agomelatine shows a strong antidepressant effect in the male rats without any adverse influences on sexual behavior, and its effects on pubertal maturation seem to show sex-dependent differences.
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canpolat
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nazife
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ulker
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yardimci
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozgur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bulmus
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gokcen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ozdemir
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zafer
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zubeyde
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ercan
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Biophysics, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ihsan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Serhatlioglu
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kacar
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Biophysics, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozcan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Reproduction and Artificial Insemination, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gaffari
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Turk
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Elazig, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Atmaca
authors.affiliation: Yeditepe University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bayram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Firat University, Medical School, Department of Physiology, Elazig, Turkey. Electronic address: hkelestimur@firat.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Haluk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kelestimur
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D013550:Swimming; D013997:Time Factors; D009281:Naphthalenes
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; C084711:agomelatine; D009281:Naphthalenes
keywords: Agomelatine; Antidepressant; Sexual behavior