title: C-phycocyanin protects against low fertility by inhibiting reactive oxygen species in aging mice.
abstract: Women over 35 have higher rates of infertility, largely due to deterioration of oocyte quality characterized by fragmentation, abnormal meiotic spindle-chromosome complexes, and oxidative stress. C-phycocyanin (PC) is a biliprotein enriched in Spirulina platensis that is known to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and radical-scavenging properties. D-galactose-induced aging acceleration in mice has been extensively used to study aging mechanisms and for pharmaceutical screening. In this study, adult female B6D2F/1 mice injected with D-galactose were used as a model to test the age-reversing effects of PC on degenerated reproductive ability. Our results show that PC can prevent oocyte fragmentation and aneuploidy by maintaining cytoskeletal integrity. Moreover, PC can reverse the expression of antioxidant genes, increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decrease methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) content, and normalize mitochondria distribution. PC exerts its benefit by inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which decreases apoptosis. Finally, we observe a significant increase in litter size after PC administration to D-galactose-induced aging mice. Our study demonstrates for the first time that D-galactose-induced impaired female reproductive capability can be partially rescued by the antioxidant effects of PC.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan-Jiao
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Jie
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yue-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dong-Hui
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin-Xin
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of National Education Ministry for Mammalian Reproductive Biology and Biotechnology, The Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Guang
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects*; D005690:Galactose / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010798:Phycocyanin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011897:Random Allocation; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D010798:Phycocyanin; D005690:Galactose
keywords: C-phycocyanin; D-galactose; Gerotarget; oocyte; ovarian aging; oxidative stress