title: Chronic Exposure to Diquat Causes Reproductive Toxicity in Female Mice.
abstract: Diquat is a bipyridyl herbicide that has been widely used as a model chemical for in vivo studies of oxidative stress due to its generation of superoxide anions, and cytotoxic effects. There is little information regarding the toxic effects of diquat on the female reproductive system, particularly ovarian function. Thus, we investigated the reproductive toxic effects of diquat on female mice. Chronic exposure to diquat reduced ovary weights, induced ovarian oxidative stress, resulted in granulosa cell apoptosis, and disrupted oocyte developmental competence, as shown by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, decreased polar body extrusion rates and increased apoptosis-related genes expression. Additionally, after diquat treatment, the numbers of fetal mice and litter sizes were significantly reduced compared to those of control mice. Thus, our results indicated that chronic exposure to diquat induced reproductive toxicity in female mice by promoting the ROS production of gruanousa cells and ooctyes, impairing follicle development, inducing apoptosis, and reducing oocyte quality. In conclusion, our findings indicate that diquat can be used as a potent and efficient chemical for in vivo studies of female reproductive toxicity induced by oxidative stress. Moreover, the findings from this study will further enlarge imitative research investigating the effect of ovarian damage induced by oxidative stress on reproductive performance and possible mechanisms of action in large domestic animals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Qing
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bin-Wen
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Henan Provincial Animal Husbandry General Station, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qiao-Ling
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Song
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D004178:Diquat / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D059705:Polar Bodies / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D004178:Diquat