EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact

SESSION 2: SECONDARY METABOLITES – BIOCHEMISTRY,
BIOSYNTHESIS, FEED AND FOOD SAFETY
P40 - Induction of cytotoxicity and apoptosis in
mouse blastocysts by enniatin
W.-H. Chan
Department of Bioscience Technology and Center for Nanotechnology, Chung Yuan Christian
University, Chung Li, Taiwan
E-mail: whchan@cycu.edu.tw
Enniatins (ENNs) are mycotoxins found in Fusarium fungi and they appear in
nature as mixtures of cyclic depsipeptides. In this report, we examined the
cytotoxic effects of ENNs on mouse embryos at the blastocyst stage, subsequent
embryonic attachment and outgrowth in vitro, and in vivo implantation by embryo
transfer. Blastocysts treated with 5 μM ENN exhibited significantly increased
apoptosis and a corresponding decrease in total cell number. Importantly, the
implantation success rate of blastocysts pretreated with ENN was lower than that
of their control counterparts. Moreover, in vitro treatment with 5 μM ENNs was
associated with increased resorption of post-implantation embryos and
decreased fetal weight. Our results collectively indicate that in vitro exposure to
ENNs induces apoptosis and retards early post-implantation development after
transfer to host mice. In summary, we have shown that ENN induces cellular
apoptosis in both the ICM and TE of mouse blastocysts, leading to decreased
implantation, embryonic development, and viability. Clearly, ENN is a potent
injury risk factor for normal embryonic development. However, further studies are
required to elucidate the mechanism(s) by which ENN affects embryonic
development as well as the teratogenic actions and regulatory mechanisms of
ENN in human embryogenesis.
Keywords: enniatin, blastocyst, apoptosis, embryonic development
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