Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (12): 3068-3075.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2020.12.016

• ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Effect of Caffeic Acid on Zearalenone-induced Ovarian Granulosa Cell Apoptosis in Mice

PEI Yaping1, ZHAO Jin1, SUN Na1, SUN Panpan2, SUN Yaogui1, FAN Kuohai2, YIN Wei1, LI Hongquan1*   

  1. 1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China;
    2. Laboratory Animal Center, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
  • Received:2020-06-30 Online:2020-12-25 Published:2020-12-23

Abstract: Ovarian granulosa cells provide a special microenvironment for follicle formation and maturation through interaction with oocytes and their own secretion. A variety of harmful stimuli can cause granulosa cell apoptosis and metabolic disorders, reduce the quality of oocytes and have a negative impact on embryo formation. Zearalenone (ZEA) is a common cause of ovarian granulosa cells injury in the livestock industry, which is produced by mycotoxins, and lack of effective treatment drug. Therefore, in the current study zearalenone was used to induce ovarian granulosa cell injury and to explore the protective effect of caffeic acid on zearalenone-induced ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis in mice. Mouse ovarian granulosa cells were isolated by mechanical method, and indirect immunofluorescence was used to identify the isolated cells. MTT assay was used to determine the effect of caffeic acid on the activity of normal mouse ovarian granulosa cells.After granulosa cells were co-treated with caffeic acid (200, 100 and 50 μg·mL-1) and ZEA for 24 hours, and control and ZEA group were set up at the same time, cell morphology and adherence were observed under a microscope. MTT was also used to detect cell viability. Caspase-3 mRNA expression level was detected by qRT-PCR. Cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP protein expre-ssion levels were determined by Western blot. The results showed that positive FSHR staining appeared in cell cytoplasm of the test group, which confirmed that the isolated cells were mouse ovarian granulosa cells. The cell viability was above 90% which showed that caffeic acid had no toxic effect on granulosa cells. Compared with control group, ZEA group had smaller cell size, poor adherence, increased cell gap, and significant reduction in cell viability (P<0.001). Furthermore, the relative expression of caspase-3 mRNA, and cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP protein level were significantly increased (P<0.001) compared with the control group. After caffeic acid treatment, cell gap was reduced, adherence was tight, cell viability was significantly increased (P<0.001). Caffeic acid significantly reduced zearalenone-induced increase in caspase-3 mRNA, and cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP protein expression level (P<0.001). This study indicated that caffeic acid can restore granulosa cell viability by inhibiting ZEA-induced apoptosis.

Key words: caffeic acid, zearalenone, ovarian granulosa cells, apoptosis

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