121. SHORT TERM XENOBIOTIC EXPOSURE COMPROMISES LONG TERM OOCYTE VIABILITY

Abstract

Mammalian females are born with a finite number of non-renewing primordial follicles, the majority of which remain in a quiescent state for many years. These follicles serve as the primary source of all developing oocytes in the ovary, and cannot be regenerated post fetal development. Due to their non-renewing nature, these “resting” oocytes are particularly vulnerable to environmental and toxic insults, especially to those which are capable of inducing oxidative stress. Recent evidence suggests that certain synthetic chemical compounds, known as xenobiotics, have the potential to generate oxidative stress through the production of free oxygen radicals (ROS) as a byproduct of the cell’s detoxification process. Given the redox sensitive nature of the mammalian oocyte, we hypothesise that xenobiotic exposure may have adverse effects on long term oocyte viability. In this study, we attempted to identify the effects of short term xenobiotic exposure on long term oocyte viability. Female Swiss neonatal mice (day 4) were administered 7 daily consecutive doses of 4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (40mg/kg/daily; 80mg/kg/daily) Methoxychlor (50mg/kg/daily; 100mg/kg/daily) or Menadione (7.5mg/kg/daily; 15mg/kg/daily). Mice were then superovulated at 6wks and their oocytes collected for analysis. Sperm-egg fusion assays revealed a significant decrease (P < 0.01) in sperm egg binding (1.4–7 fold) and fusion (4–20 fold) in a dose dependent manner for all three xenobiotic treatments in vivo, signifying a decrease in oocyte membrane fluidity. Follow-up lipid peroxidation analysis on xenobiotic cultured oocytes also showed a significant (P < 0.01) dose dependent increase (1.3–2.5 fold) in membrane lipid peroxidation for each xenobiotic compared to the control. These results provide some of the first evidence of short term xenobiotic exposure causing long term oocyte dysfunction, possibly interfering with the fluidity and/or elasticity of the oocyte plasma membrane through xenobiotic ROS induced lipid peroxidation.