Lei Wei,Zonggang Feng,Qian Dou,Genhong Mao,Hu Zhao,Xinghua Zhao,Bin Hao
Male reproductive disorders are responsible for approximately 50% of infertility cases. Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a common environmental pollutant known for its reproductive toxicity. Oxidative stress is a key mechanism in response to DEHP exposure. Glutathione S-transferase A2 (GSTA2), a member of the glutathione S-transferase family, has the capacity to detoxify environmental toxins. However, its role in regulating DEHP-induced male reproductive disorders remains unexplored. Next, male mice aged 3 weeks were orally administered with DEHP (500 mg/kg/day) for 14 days to induce male reproductive disorders. We observed a decrease in the GSTA2 expression in the testicular tissues of DEHP-treated mice. To investigate the role of GSTA2 in DEHP exposure, lentiviral vectors carrying GSTA2 sequences (1 × 10 7 TU/mL, 20 μL) were given to mice on the first day of DEHP treatment. GSTA2 overexpression was found to alleviate testicular damage induced by DEHP, as well as to inhibit oxidative stress and subsequent cell apoptosis. In addition, the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which is associated with oxidative stress and DEHP exposure, was activated in DEHP-exposed mice following GSTA2 overexpression. Subsequently, mouse spermatocyte GC-2spd cells with DEHP treatment were used to mimic male reproductive disorders in vitro . Consistently, the GSTA2 expression was decreased in GC-2spd cells with DEHP treatment. GSTA2 overexpression inhibited oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in DEHP-treated GC-2spd cells by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, we discovered that GSTA2 overexpression significantly altered the metabolic profiles of DEHP-treated GC-2spd cells. Collectively, our results suggest that GSTA2 overexpression alleviates DEHP-induced male reproductive disorders by suppressing oxidative stress-mediated cell apoptosis via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, providing a novel insight into mitigating reproductive toxicity caused by DEHP exposure.
Zunli Ke,Si Tan,Haiyang Li,Shanshan Jiang,Yuping Li,Rui Chen,Mingxia Li
Nonalcoholic liver disease (NAFLD) is a pathological condition characterized by excessive fat deposition in the liver, and NAFLD usually has a close relationship with obesity or metabolic syndrome. Currently, oxidative stress is considered as an important risk factor in the progression of NAFLD, therefore, effective amelioration of oxidative stress has emerged as a promising way to improve NAFLD. Tangeretin is a natural compound having various pharmacological activities including antioxidation and hepatoprotection. However, whether tangeretin is able to improve NAFLD through reducing hepatic oxidative stress is rarely reported. In our work, the preventive effects of tangeretin on a NAFLD mouse model induced by a high fat (HF) diet were studied. The results exhibited that tangeretin supplementation observably slowed down NAFLD progression through alleviation of metabolic indexes such as glucose tolerance, serum lipid levels and inflammatory factors, hepatic oxidative stress as well as steatosis. qRT-PCR showed that tangeretin supplementation increased the nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression and then upregulated the expression of its downstream factors including HO-1, GCLC, NQO1 and GSTA2. Furthermore, the expression of the hepatic nucleus, Nrf2, HO-1 and GCLC, was also seen to be significantly enhanced in WB analysis. Taken together, this study implies that tangeretin might alleviate NAFLD through lowering oxidative stress in the liver by partial modulation of the Nrf2 pathway. Our study provided theoretical support that tangeretin could be used as a dietary therapy for obesity related-NAFLD or related metabolic syndrome.