Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR), a cyclic heptapeptide produced by cyanobacteria, is a strong reproductive toxin. Studies performed in rat Sertoli cells and Chinese hamster ovary cells have demonstrated typical apoptosis after MC-LR exposure. However, little is known on how to protect against the reproductive toxicity induced by MC-LR. The present study aimed to explore the possible molecular mechanism underlying the anti-apoptosis and protective effects of resveratrol (RES) on the co-culture of Sertoli–germ cells and rat testes. The results demonstrated that MC-LR treatment inhibited the proliferation of Sertoli–germ cells and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and Bcl-2 were inhibited, while p53 and Ku70 acetylation, Bax expression, and cleaved caspase-3 were upregulated by MC-LR. However, RES pretreatment ameliorated MC-LR-induced apoptosis and SIRT1 inhibition, and downregulated the MC-LR-induced increase in p53 and Ku70 acetylation, Bax expression, and caspase-3 activation. In addition, RES reversed the MC-LR-mediated reduction in Ku70 binding to Bax. The present study indicated that the administration of RES could ameliorate MC-LR-induced Sertoli–germ cell apoptosis and protect against reproductive toxicity in rats by stimulating the SIRT1/p53 pathway, suppressing p53 and Ku70 acetylation and enhancing the binding of Ku70 to Bax.

Microcystins (MCs), the secondary metabolites of blue-green algae, are ubiquitous and major cyanotoxin contaminants. Besides the hepatopancreas/liver, the reproductive system is regarded as the most important target organ for MCs. Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in MCs-induced reproductive toxicity, the role of MCs in this pathway remains unclear. In the present study, Sertoli cells were employed to investigate apoptotic death involved in male reproductive toxicity of microcystin-LR (MC-LR). After exposure to various concentrations of MC-LR for 24 h, the growth of Sertoli cells was concentration-dependently decreased with an IC50 of ~32 μg/mL. Mitochondria-mediated apoptotic changes were observed in Sertoli cells exposed to 8, 16, and 32 μg/mL MC-LR including the increased expression of caspase pathway proteins, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and generation of ROS. Pretreatment with a global caspase inhibitor was found to depress the activation of caspases, and eventually increased the survival rate of Sertoli cells, implying that the mitochondrial caspases pathway is involved in MC-LR-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, N-acetyl-l-cysteine attenuated the MC-LR-induced intracellular ROS generation, MMP collapse and cytochrome c release, resulting in the inhibition of apoptosis. Taken together, the observed results suggested that MC-LR induced apoptotic death of Sertoli cells by the activation of mitochondrial caspases cascade, while its effects on the ROS-mediated signaling pathway may contribute toward the initiation of mitochondrial dysfunction.

Microcystin-leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a cyclic heptapeptide intracellular toxin released by cyanobacteria that exhibits strong reproductive toxicity. However, little is known about its biotoxicity to the female reproductive system. The present study investigates unexplored molecular pathways by which oxidative stress acts on MC-LR-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs) and autophagy. In the present study, immortalized murine ovarian granular cells (KK-1 cells) were exposed to 8.5, 17, and 34 μg/mL (IC50) of MC-LR with or without N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC, 10 mM) for 24 h, and C57BL/6 mice were treated with 12.5, 25.0, and 40.0 μg/kg⋅bw of MC-LR with or without NAC (200 mg/kg⋅bw) for 14 days. The results revealed that MC-LR could induce cells apoptosis and morphologic changes in ovarian tissues, induce oxidative stress by stimulating the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), destroying antioxidant capacity, and subsequently trigger ERs and autophagy by inducing the hyper-expression of ATG12, ATG5, ATG16, EIF2α (phosphorylated at S51), CHOP, XBP1, GRP78, Beclin1, and PERK (Thr980). Furthermore, NAC pretreatment partly inhibited MC-LR-induced ERs and autophagy via the PERK/ATG12 and XBP1/Beclin1 pathways. These results suggest that oxidative stress mediated MC-LR-induced ERs and autophagy in KK-1 cells and C57BL/6 mice ovaries. Therefore, oxidative stress plays an important role in female toxicity induced by MC-LR.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a ubiquitous peptide that exhibits strong reproductive toxicity, although the mechanistic basis for such toxicity remains largely unknown. The present study was conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of exposure to MC-LR in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The results showed that MC-LR inhibited the in vitro proliferation of CHO cells significantly, with an IC50 of 10 μM. Moreover, MC-LR-treated CHO cells revealed strong induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Additionally, exposure of CHO cells to MC-LR resulted in excess reactive oxygen species production and intracellular calcium release, with resultant endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERs). There was also extensive accumulation of autophagic vacuoles with the highest concentration of MC-LR used (10 μM). Furthermore, the expression of ERs (GRP78, ATF-6, PERK, IRE1, CHOP) and autophagy (Beclin1 and LC3II) proteins was increased, with concomitantly reduced expression of LC3I suggesting that ERs and autophagy were induced in CHO cells by MC-LR treatment. Conversely, pretreatment of CHO cells with 4-Phenyl butyric acid, the ERs inhibitor reduced the MC-LR-induced apoptotic cell death and cellular autophagy as evidenced by the reduced expression of Beclin1 and LC3II. Similarly, MC-LR treatment in combination with an autophagy inhibitor (3-methyladenine) increased apoptotic cell death compared with MC-LR alone, and induced ERs via upregulating ERs proteins. The overall results indicated that activation of ERs and autophagy are both associated with MC-LR-induced apoptosis in CHO cells. ERs may be a trigger of autophagy in this process.

Microcystin‐LR (MC‐LR), a potent endotoxin, can induce reproductive toxicity. In order to investigate the role and mechanisms of apoptosis (p53‐dependent and mitochondrial pathways) of germ cells induced by MC‐LR, the co‐cultured primary Sertoli‐germ cells from Sprague‐Dawley rats were used for the experiments. Expression levels of proteins, genes, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were obtained after exposing co‐cultured Sertoli‐germ cells to MC‐LR with or without the addition of the p53 inhibitor, pifithrin‐α (PFT‐α), and MMP inhibitor, cyclosporin A (CsA). Results indicated that MC‐LR could activate p53‐dependent pathway‐associated proteins in Sertoli‐germ cells, leading to a decrease in MMP (indicating the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore [mPTP] and the release of Cytochrome‐c [Cyt‐c]) from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm and eventually the induction of apoptosis. PFT‐α inhibited the expression ofp53, ameliorated the MMP of the co‐cultured Sertoli‐germ cells, and prevented the release of Cyt‐c from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm, which reduces the occurrence of apoptosis. Similarly, the decreased release of Cyt‐c from the mitochondria into the cytoplasm and the declined level of apoptosis in Sertoli‐germ cells induced by MC‐LR were observed after the addition of CsA. These results indicated that the apoptosis of the co‐cultured Sertoli‐germ cells induced by MC‐LR was mediated by the p53‐dependent pathway, with the involvement of the opening of mPTP.