Abstract
Locoweed is a poisonous plant that severely harms the development of grass-land and animal husbandry throughout the world. Oxytropis and Astragalus are the Latin names for the poisonous plants commonly known as locoweed. The main toxic substance in these plants is swainsonine. It is a strong inhibitor of lysosomal α-mannosidase I and Golgi body α-mannosidase II, resulting in the accumulation of oligosaccharides and glycoproteins in lysosomes, interfering with the molecular and cellular recognition of glycans, and causing tissue-cell vacuolar degeneration. Livestock shows a series of clinical and pathological symptoms, mainly for the decline of reproductive performance. The effects in dams are abortion, weak fetus, and fetal malformations. The key step in maintaining pregnancy in dams is early endometrial decidualization, because reproductive hormones, decidual cell apoptosis, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and other immune factors are negatively affected by swainsonine. This article addresses the modifications that occur through glycan processing and glycosylation resulting in the change of post-translational modification of the protein and the activity of the glycoprotein, and then direct and indirect mechanisms of ER stress, apoptosis, reproductive hormones, immune factors, and cell cycle and other pathways. Our aim is to find new methods of prevention and treatment of swainsonine poisoning in grassland animals.
Highlights
Locoweed (Astragalus spp. and Oxytropis spp.) is a perennial flowering plant found frequently in the rangelands of the western United States, Asia, and South America
A recent study found that ovarian stimulation using human chorionic gonadotropin induces an imbalance in steroid hormone secretion, which causes a failure of the development of uterine receptivity and subsequent implantation and decidualization by altering the expression of steroid receptors and their downstream signaling associated with embryo implantation [50]
The causes of miscarriage due to swainsonine poisoning may include directly affecting the abnormal decidualization caused by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress; the ER stress leading to abnormal ecdysone secretion; ER stress variation caused by hormone disorders; and ER stress induced indirectly by apoptosis leading to abnormal decidualization and other factors
Summary
Locoweed (Astragalus spp. and Oxytropis spp.) is a perennial flowering plant found frequently in the rangelands of the western United States, Asia, and South America It is one of the most poisonous weeds and harms grassland and animal husbandry development worldwide [1]. The mechanisms of the disorder of decidualization in early pregnancy induced by the swainsonine poisoning are the following: 1) Inhibition of α-mannosidase activity triggering the accumulation of oligosaccharides, causing misfolding of nascent peptides by N-glycans. We conclude that swainsonine can affect early pregnancy decidualization through the apoptotic pathway, triggering abortion This article addresses these three aspects in detail from various angles to uncover the mechanism of swainsonine poisoning that induces early pregnancy decidualization disorder in dams. We aim to provide a new theoretical basis and train of thought for the pathogenesis of swainsonine poisoning
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