1. Academic Validation
  2. Maternal exposure to PM2.5 decreases ovarian reserve in neonatal offspring mice through activating PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathway and ROS-dependent NF-κB pathway

Maternal exposure to PM2.5 decreases ovarian reserve in neonatal offspring mice through activating PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a pathway and ROS-dependent NF-κB pathway

  • Toxicology. 2022 Oct 13;481:153352. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2022.153352.
Yingying Chen 1 Yueyue Xi 1 Milu Li 1 Yaling Wu 1 Wei Yan 2 Jun Dai 1 Mingfu Wu 1 Wenjun Ding 3 Jinjin Zhang 1 Fang Zhang 4 Su Zhou 5 Shixuan Wang 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Laboratory of Environment and Health, College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • 3 Laboratory of Environment and Health, College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • 4 Laboratory of Environment and Health, College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract

There is evidence of an association between exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and female ovarian dysfunction in adults. However, it is not fully clear whether maternal exposure to PM2.5 negatively affects the ovarian function in offspring. The size of primordial follicle pool, definitely assembled during fetal life, determines ovarian reserve and ovarian function. In this study, female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to either ambient PM2.5 (mean daily concentration 49 µg/m3) or filtered air through a whole-body exposure system for 4 weeks before mating, and remained exposed until postpartum. We found that maternal exposure to PM2.5 reduces the initial size of primordial follicle pool and impairs its development in offspring mice. The number of primordial follicles and total follicles was decreased in PM2.5-exposed offspring mice on postnatal day 3 (PND3) and postnatal day 7 (PND7). Maternal PM2.5 exposure promoted the activation of primordial follicles and upregulated the level of p-AKT in offspring mice, accelerating the depletion of primordial follicle pool. While LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K, reversed the overactivation of primordial follicles induced by PM2.5. Besides, maternal PM2.5 exposure induced follicular atresia and granulosa cell Apoptosis, increased the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products 4-HNE, and elevated the expression of oxidative stress-related genes and p-p65, p-IκBα in offspring mice. While N-acetylcysteine (NAC) pretreatment abolished the increases of Apoptosis, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), p-p65 and p-IκBα levels in ovarian granulosa COV434 cells induced by PM2.5 exposure. These findings reveal that maternal exposure to PM2.5 decreases the initial size of primordial follicle pool, and impairs ovarian follicular development in offspring mice. Our data suggest that this involves the activation of the PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a pathway and the ROS-dependent NF-κB pathway. Our study implicates a link between maternal PM2.5 exposure and ovarian reserve in offspring, and improves our understanding of the effects of PM2.5 on reproductive health.

Keywords

Airborne PM2.5; Apoptosis; NF-κB; Ovarian reserve; Oxidative stress; PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a.

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