Wedelolactone facilitates the early development of parthenogenetically activated porcine embryos by reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting autophagy

Xin-Qin Wang; Rong-Ping Liu; Jing Wang; Dan Luo; Ying-Hua Li; Hao Jiang; Yong-Nan Xu; Nam-Hyung Kim

doi:10.7717/peerj.13766

Wedelolactone facilitates the early development of parthenogenetically activated porcine embryos by reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting autophagy

PeerJ. 2022 Jul 25:10:e13766. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13766. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xin-Qin Wang¹, Rong-Ping Liu¹, Jing Wang¹, Dan Luo², Ying-Hua Li¹, Hao Jiang², Yong-Nan Xu¹, Nam-Hyung Kim¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Large Animal Models for Biomedicine, School of Biotechnology and Health Sciences, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, China.
² Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Model, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Abstract

Wedelolactone (WDL) is a coumaryl ether compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Eclipta prostrata L. It is a natural polyphenol that exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-free radical, and antioxidant activities in the bone, brain, and ovary. However, its effect on embryonic development remains unknown. The present study explored the influence of WDL supplementation of porcine oocytes culture in vitro on embryonic development and the underlying mechanisms and its effect on the levels of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1/nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Keap1/Nrf2/ARE). The results showed that WDL (2.5 nM) significantly increased the blastocyst formation rate, mitochondrial activity, and proliferation ability while reducing the reactive oxygen species accumulation, apoptosis, and autophagy. These findings suggested that WDL can enhance the growth and development of early porcine embryos to alleviate oxidative stress and autophagy through regulating NRF2 and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (MAP1LC3) gene expression levels.

Keywords: Autophagy; Nrf2/ARE; Oxidative stress; Porcine embryo; Wedelolactone.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Autophagy / genetics
Female
Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1 / genetics
NF-E2-Related Factor 2* / genetics
Oxidative Stress*
Swine

Substances

Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1
wedelolactone
NF-E2-Related Factor 2

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the science and technology planning project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Project No.: 2021B1212040016); and the special project in key areas of biomedicine and health of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (Project No.: 2021ZDZX2046). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.