Proanthocyanidin protects against acute zearalenone-induced testicular oxidative damage in male mice.
Zearalenone (ZEN) exerts a major effect on human and animal health and has led to serious worldwide economic problems. In this study, we investigated whether proanthocyanidin (PC) can prevent ZEN-induced testicular oxidative damage in male mice and explored the underlying mechanism. Kunming mice were injected with ZEN (40 mg kg-1) on the 11th day after intragastric administration of PC (75 or 150 mg/kg) for 10 days; the sperm quality of mice was then analysed statistically. Additionally, testicular morphology parameters related to oxidative damage, apoptosis and the expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related genes (GRP78, CHOP and XBP-1) were all measured. Results showed that ZEN exposure significantly reduced the sperm density, improved the sperm aberration rate, increased the MDA level and reduced SOD and GSH-Px activities. Meanwhile, ZEN was attributed to the downregulation of the expressions of the gene and protein of Bcl-2 and upregulation of the expressions of the gene and protein of Bax and caspase-3. ZEN exposure also upregulated the mRNA expression of GRP78, CHOP and XBP-1; however, PC pre-treatment reduced ZEN-induced oxidative damage and tended to maintain normal testicular morphology. Furthermore, PC pre-treatment substantially downregulated the expressions of the GRP78, CHOP and XBP-1 and upregulated the expression of the Bcl-2 gene. In conclusion, PC, due to its anti-oxidative ability, could ameliorate ZEN-induced testicular reproductive toxicity in male mice by decreasing ER stress and testicular cell apoptosis.
['Long|Miao|M|', 'Yang|Shuhua|S|', 'Zhang|Yi|Y|', 'Li|Peng|P|', 'Han|Jianxin|J|', 'Dong|Shuang|S|', 'Chen|Xinliang|X|', 'He|Jianbin|J|']
D000818:Animals D000975:Antioxidants D017209:Apoptosis D053148:Caspase 3 D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP D059865:Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress D004785:Environmental Pollutants D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins D006801:Humans D008297:Male D051379:Mice D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains D018384:Oxidative Stress D044945:Proanthocyanidins D013737:Testis D015854:Up-Regulation D015025:Zearalenone
Proanthocyanidin Oxidative damage Apoptosis Mice testis Zearaleone