[Late effects of damaging action of doxorubicin on the reproductive system and progeny of rats].

The effect of doxorubicin, an anthracycline antibiotic, on the reproductive system and progeny was studied in rats 1 month after a single administration of the drug in the MID of 6.85 mg/kg. It was shown that doxorubicin induced a decrease in the number of the mature oocytes in the rat ovary and an increase in the pre- and post-implantation death rate. The rats exposed to the antibiotic 1 month before the mating with intact male rats had unchanged fertility and pregnancy. In the fetuses isolated from the female rats treated with the antibiotic, development of some parts of the skeleton appeared to be retarded. One fetus and one young rat had severe developmental anomalies in the skeletons: shorter right anterior and hind extremities and finger aplasia. The survival rate of the progeny from the female rats exposed to the antibiotic was markedly decreased. No retardation in the physical development of the progeny was observed.