Pyrethroids cypermethrin, deltamethrin and fenvalerate have different effects on in vitro maturation of pig oocytes at different stages of growth

Abstract

Pesticides can significantly harm reproduction in animals and people. Pyrethroids are often used as insecticides, and their toxicity for mammals is considered to be low. However, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and fenvalerate – as potent specific inhibitors of protein phosphatase calcineurin – can influence the meiosis of mammalian oocytes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of these pyrethroids on the in vitro maturation of pig oocytes at different levels of meiotic competence. Under the tested concentrations, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and fenvalerate neither had a significant effect on the viability of oocytes nor did they induce significant degeneration of oocytes. However, these pyrethroids significantly affected meiotic maturation. The effects depended on the stage of meiotic competence of the oocytes. Maturation of growing pig oocytes with partial meiotic competence was induced. On the other hand, in fully grown pig oocytes with full meiotic competence, maturation in vitro was delayed. The specificity of these effects was further supported by the same effect of non-pyrethroidal inhibitors of calcineurin – cyclosporin A or hymenistatin I – on the maturation of oocytes with different levels of meiotic competence. However, pyrethroids, which do not inhibit calcineurin – allethrin or permethrin – had no effect on pig oocyte maturation. We demonstrated a significant effect of pyrethroids on the maturation of mammalian oocytes under in vitro conditions. This indicates that exposure to these substances could affect the fertility of people or animals.