Abstract
Acrylamide (ACR) is a chemical compound with severe neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity. Recent studies showed that ACR impairs the function of reproductive organs, e.g., epididymis and testes. In vitro maturation of mouse oocyte is a sensitive assay to identify potential chemical hazard to female fertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the adverse effects of ACR on the nuclear maturation and cumulus cells apoptosis of mouse oocytes in vitro. Cumulus–oocyte complexes were incubated in a maturation medium containing 0, 5, 10 and 20 μM of ACR. Chromosome alignment and spindle morphology of oocytes was determined by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Our results showed that oocytes exposed to different doses of ACR in vitro were associated with a significant decrease of oocyte maturation, significant increase of chromosome misalignment rate, occurrence of abnormal spindle configurations, and the inhibition of oocyte parthenogenetic activation. Furthermore, apoptosis of cumulus cells was determined by TUNEL and CASPASE-3 assay. Results showed that apoptosis in cumulus cells was enhanced and the expression of CASPASE-3 was increased after cumulus–oocyte complexes were exposed to ACR. Therefore, ACR may affect the nuclear maturation of oocytes via the apoptosis of cumulus cells in vitro.
Highlights
Acrylamide (ACR) is a water-soluble vinyl monomer used to produce polymers and gels
ACR on Oocyte Nuclear Maturation and Cumulus Cells Apoptosis in Mouse is similar to the neurological symptoms observed in human intoxication [3, 4]
Treatment with 5 μM ACR reduced the percentage of polar body I extrusion to 78.82 ± 6.0%, but no significant difference was observed when compared to the untreated control (P > 0.05)
Summary
Acrylamide (ACR) is a water-soluble vinyl monomer used to produce polymers and gels. ACR is widely used in industry, science and technology, e.g., water purification, paper and fabric manufacturing, the mining, and gel electrophoresis. Occupational exposure to the burgeoning industrial use of ACR could potentially lead to neurotoxicity that may induce skeletal muscle weakness, numbness of the extremities, ataxia, and cognitive impairment [1, 2]. Many studies using laboratory animals suggest that the ACR-induced neurotoxicity. In addition to occupational exposure, food is one of the main sources of ACR uptake. Significantly higher level of ACR was found in a variety of cooked foods produced by a Swedish company [5]
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