title: Mycotoxin alpha-zearalenol impairs the quality of preimplantation porcine embryos.
abstract: Alpha-Zearalenol (α-ZEA) is one of derivatives from Zearalenone (ZEA) which impacts mammalian reproduction and development. Previous studies have shown that pigs are sensitive to the estradiol-like effects of α-ZEA. However, the effect of α-ZEA for the early embryonic development has not been fully studied. The objective of this study was to identify the direct toxicity of α-ZEA on porcine preimplantation embryonic development, embryo quality and expression of developmentally important genes. Presumptive zygotes were cultured in porcine zygote medium 3 (PZM-3) in the presence of α-ZEA (n=2,957) or 17β-estradiol (E2) (n=1,333) dissolved in 0.1% Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) from 24 to 84 h post insemination followed by determination of apoptotic cell numbers and transcript levels of BAX, BCL2L1 and POU5F1 in blastocysts. Cleavage rates on day 2 were significantly decreased in 10, 30 and 60 µM α-ZEA groups; whereas blastocyst rates on day 6 were significantly decreased in the 30 and 60 µM of α-ZEA groups. Only the 100 µM E2 group significantly decreased cleavage and blastocyst rates. Total cell numbers (TCN) in blastocysts were significantly lower in the 10 µM α-ZEA group, but no differences in apoptotic cell rates were found. The expression levels of POU5F1 and BCL2L1 transcripts were similar; however, levels of BAX transcripts and the BAX/BCL2L1 ratio were increased in both α-ZEA groups. Since α-ZEA and E2 did not elicit similar effects, results suggest that α-ZEA might impact porcine preimplantation embryonic development through pathways other than estrogen receptor binding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Mississippi State University, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Hongfeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Camargo Rodriguez
authors.forename: Erdogan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Memili
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D013552:Swine; D015029:Zeranol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D051020:bcl-X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009183:Mycotoxins; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D051020:bcl-X Protein; C029659:zearalenol; D004958:Estradiol; D015029:Zeranol