Equol: A Microbiota Metabolite Able to Alleviate the Negative Effects of Zearalenone during In Vitro Culture of Ovine Preantral Follicles
Talyne Emilia Santos Silva,
Danielle Cristina Calado de Brito,
Naiza Arcângelo Ribeiro de Sá,
Renato Felix da Silva,
Anna Clara Accioly Ferreira,
José Ytalo Gomes da Silva,
Maria Izabel Florindo Guedes,
Ana Paula Ribeiro Rodrigues,
Regiane Rodrigues dos Santos,
José Ricardo de Figueiredo
Affiliations
Talyne Emilia Santos Silva
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Danielle Cristina Calado de Brito
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Naiza Arcângelo Ribeiro de Sá
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Renato Felix da Silva
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Anna Clara Accioly Ferreira
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
José Ytalo Gomes da Silva
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology (LBBM), State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Maria Izabel Florindo Guedes
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology (LBBM), State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Ana Paula Ribeiro Rodrigues
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Regiane Rodrigues dos Santos
Schothorst Feed Research, 8218 NA Lelystad, The Netherlands
José Ricardo de Figueiredo
Laboratory of Manipulation of Oocytes and Ovarian Pre-Antral Follicles (LAMOFOPA), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, State University of Ceará, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
The impact of zearalenone (ZEN) on female reproduction remains an issue, since its effects may differ among exposed cell types. Besides the use of decontaminants in animal diet, other approaches should be considered to minimise ZEN effects after exposure. Since the first organ in contact with ZEN is the gastrointestinal tract, we hypothesise that products of microbiota metabolism may play a role in ZEN detoxification. We aimed to evaluate the effect of 1 µmol/L ZEN and 1 µmol/L equol (a microbial metabolite), alone or in combination, on the survival and morphology of in vitro cultured ovarian preantral follicles. Ovaries from 12 sheep were collected at a local abattoir and fragmented, and the ovarian pieces were submitted to in vitro culture for three days in the presence or absence of the test compounds. The follicular morphology was impaired by ZEN, but equol could alleviate the observed degeneration rates. While ZEN decreased cell proliferation in primary and secondary follicles, as well as induced DNA double-strand breaks in primordial follicles, all these observations disappeared when equol was added to a culture medium containing ZEN. In the present culture conditions, equol was able to counteract the negative effects of ZEN on ovarian preantral follicles.
