Effects of ranibizumab and zoledronic acid on endometriosis in a rat model

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Zoledronic acid and ranibizumab showed lower histological scores and reduced CD31 and NF-κB staining in a rat endometriosis model compared to controls.

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The study investigated the histological effects of ranibizumab and zoledronic acid on experimentally induced endometriosis in 52 female Wistar albino rats, with random assignment to treatment groups including dienogest, danazol, buserelin acetate, zoledronic acid, ranibizumab, and saline controls. After 4 weeks, implant volume and histopathological features—assessed using an epithelia preservation scoring system and immunohistochemistry (including Bcl-2, NF-κB, and CD31)—were evaluated. Zoledronic acid and ranibizumab both produced significantly lower histological scores than controls (p < 0.001), and both groups showed significantly lower CD31 and NF-κB staining compared with controls (p 0.05). The paper’s main limitation, as stated in the available text, is that this was an animal model without discussion of translation to humans beyond proposing candidates for treatment. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it tests ranibizumab and zoledronic acid in a rat model of induced endometriosis and evaluates histological and immunohistochemical outcomes.

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Abstract

Purpose To investigate the histological efficacy of ranibizumab and zoledronic acid in an experimentally induced endometriosis model as compared with danazol, buserelin acetate and dienogest.

Methods

Endometrial implants were introduced in 52 female Wistar albino rats, which were then randomly divided into six groups. The animals were, respectively, given dienogest, danazol, buserelin acetate, zoledronic acid, ranibizumab and 0.9% NaCl. After 4 weeks, the volumes and histopathological properties of the implants were evaluated and the implants were excised completely at the third laparotomy. A histopathological scoring system was used to evaluate the preservation of epithelia. Endometrial explants were evaluated immunohistochemically.

Results

Among the groups, the histological score was significantly lower in the zoledronic acid and ranibizumab groups compared with the controls (p 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant difference regarding cell numbers according to the degree of Bcl-2, NF-κB, and CD31 staining (p 0.05). For Bcl-2 staining, the staining rate of the group treated with zoledronic acid was significantly lower compared with the dienogest and danazol groups (p < 0.05). The staining rates of CD31 and NF-κB were significantly lower in the zoledronic acid and ranibizumab groups compared with the controls (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

According to these results, zoledronic acid and ranibizumab may be putative candidates for the treatment of endometriosis. Similar content being viewed by others

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank to Yusuf Aytac Tohma for his contribution to the critical review of the study. Funding This study was funded by The Technological and Scientific Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (213S002). Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions EUO: project development, manuscript writing, and data collection and management, EA: project development and manuscript writing. MIT: project development and data collection and management. AY: manuscript editing and data collection and management. HA: manuscript writing and data collection and management. FO: manuscript writing and data collection and management. UI: project development, manuscript writing, data collection, and manuscript editing. Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Ethical approval This study was approved by the Experimental Animals Ethics Committee of Ege University (2013–018). Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This study was represented as oral presentation in 33rd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology held in Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, 2–5 July, 2017. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Ureyen Ozdemir, E., Adali, E., Islimye Taskin, M. et al. Effects of ranibizumab and zoledronic acid on endometriosis in a rat model. Arch Gynecol Obstet 305, 267–274 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-021-06104-9 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-021-06104-9

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Animals Danazol Danazol Danazol Female Ranibizumab Ranibizumab Ranibizumab Rats Rats, Wistar Zoledronic Acid

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