Protective effect of NeuroEPO in the reproduction of diabetic rats.

Abstract Introduction: pregestational diabetes constitutes a reproductive risk, which requires new treatment strategies. Considering that NeuroEPO, a variant of the recombinant human erythropoietin produced in Cuba, has neuroprotective and hypoglycemic effects, the aim was to evaluate the protective effect of NeuroEPO on the reproduction of diabetic rats. Material and Methods: four groups of adult female Wistar rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were used. During pregnancy, one group received the vehicle and the rest different doses of NeuroEPO (0.5 mg/kg, 0.75 mg/kg, and 1 mg/kg) subcutaneously, on alternate days, for six applications. A group of non-diabetic rats was used as a control. Glycemia and reproductive variables were evaluated. For comparisons, Analysis of Variance and Fisher's Exact Test was used. The differences were considered significant with p-values less than 0.05. Results: the group with vehicle presented maintained hyperglycemia, fewer implantations, and embryos, and increased gestational losses. In the group receiving 0.5 mg/kg of NeuroEPO, glycemia decreased significantly and the results of the reproductive variables were similar to the group of non-diabetic rats. With higher doses of NeuroEPO, gestational losses were increased. No congenital malformations were identified in either group. Conclusions: the repeated administration of 0.5 mg/kg of NeuroEPO has a beneficial effect on the reproduction of diabetic rats, which may be associated with the reduction of hyperglycemia. Other cytoprotective mechanisms of NeuroEPO should be evaluated in future studies.