Chen Chia-Chi, Chan Wen-Hsiung
Department of Bioscience Technology and Center for Nanotechnology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li 32023, Taiwan.
Int J Mol Sci. 2012;13(4):4655-4672. doi: 10.3390/ijms13044655. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
Curcumin, a common dietary pigment and spice, is a hydrophobic polyphenol derived from the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa. Previously, we reported a cytotoxic effect of curcumin on mouse embryonic stem cells and blastocysts and its association with defects in subsequent development. In the present study, we further investigated the effects of curcumin on oocyte maturation and subsequent pre- and post-implantation development, both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, curcumin induced a significant reduction in the rate of oocyte maturation, fertilization, and in vitro embryonic development. Treatment of oocytes with curcumin during in vitro maturation (IVM) led to increased resorption of postimplantation embryos and decreased fetal weight. Experiments with an in vivo mouse model disclosed that consumption of drinking water containing 40 μM curcumin led to decreased oocyte maturation and in vitro fertilization as well as early embryonic developmental injury. Finally, pretreatment with a caspase-3-specific inhibitor effectively prevented curcumin-triggered injury effects, suggesting that embryo impairment by curcumin occurs mainly via a caspase-dependent apoptotic process.
姜黄素是一种常见的食用色素和香料，是一种从草本植物姜黄的根茎中提取的疏水性多酚。此前，我们报道了姜黄素对小鼠胚胎干细胞和囊胚的细胞毒性作用及其与后续发育缺陷的关联。在本研究中，我们进一步研究了姜黄素在体外和体内对卵母细胞成熟以及随后的植入前和植入后发育的影响。值得注意的是，姜黄素导致卵母细胞成熟、受精和体外胚胎发育率显著降低。在体外成熟（IVM）过程中用姜黄素处理卵母细胞会导致植入后胚胎的吸收率增加和胎儿体重降低。体内小鼠模型实验表明，饮用含有40μM姜黄素的水会导致卵母细胞成熟和体外受精减少以及早期胚胎发育损伤。最后，用半胱天冬酶-3特异性抑制剂预处理可有效预防姜黄素引发的损伤作用，这表明姜黄素对胚胎的损害主要通过半胱天冬酶依赖性凋亡过程发生。
