TERATOGENIC EFFECTS OF AN ANTIEMETIC AGENT ROLAPITANT ON BRAIN OF DEVELOPING CHICK EMBRYOS: A MORPHOLOGICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY

The chick was chosen as a model because it is more readily available than rats or mice and its organogenesis is analogous to that of humans. Rolapitant is a highly potent, powerful antagonist of the neurokinin-1 receptor, featuring a high degree of infiltration to the brain. The study aimed to assess the morphological and histopathological analysis of the brain (cerebral cortex) of growing chick embryos in response to the rolapitant’s effect. Three hundred fertilised white leghorn chicken eggs were utilised, separated into five control groups (C1 to C5) and five experimental groups (E1 to E5), each with thirty eggs. On the fifth day of incubation, eggs from five experimental groups were exposed to different concentrations of rolapitant at 0.00039 mg, 0.0005 mg, 0.00075 mg, 0.001 mg, and 0.00125 mg respectively, whilst five control groups received the same concentration of normal saline. Chick brains were obtained and weighed. The cerebral cortex (brain) was sectioned and stained to examine the histopathological abnormalities. A significant growth retardation and decreased weight of the brain of experimental groups were noted. The number of chick embryos with abnormal “Histopathological findings such as” neuronophagia and perineural vacuolation in the cerebral cortex was also significant in experimental groups E4 and E5 (p-value < 0.05). Mild to moderate degenerative changes in the cerebral cortex of experimental groups E3, E4 and E5 and some haemorrhagic spots in experimental groups E4 and E5 were also noted. When taken in large doses, the rolapitant demonstrated its toxic effects on the brain of chick embryos.