Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital, Institute of Reproduction & Development, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. of China.
PLoS One. 2013 Jul 29;8(7):e70112. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070112. Print 2013.
Acetamiprid (ACE) and imidacloprid (IMI) are two major members in the family of neonicotinoid pesticides, which are synthesized with a higher selectivity to insects. The present study determined and compared in vitro effects of ACE, IMI and nicotine on mammalian reproduction by using an integrated testing strategy for reproductive toxicology, which covered sperm quality, sperm penetration into oocytes and preimplantation embryonic development. Direct chemical exposure (500 µM or 5 mM) on spermatozoa during capacitation was performed, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, zygotes and 2-cell embryos were respectively incubated with chemical-supplemented medium until blastocyst formation to evaluate the reproductive toxicity of these chemicals and monitor the stages mainly affected. Generally, treatment of 500 µM or 5 mM chemicals for 30 min did not change sperm motility and DNA integrity significantly but the fertilization ability in in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, indicating that IVF process could detect and distinguish subtle effect of spermatozoa exposed to different chemicals. Culture experiment in the presence of chemicals in medium showed that fertilization process and zygotes are adversely affected by direct exposure of chemicals (P<0.05), in an order of nicotine>IMI>ACE, whereas developmental progression of 2-cell stage embryos was similar to controls (P>0.05). These findings unveiled the hazardous effects of neonicotinoid pesticides exposure on mammalian sperm fertilization ability as well as embryonic development, raising the concerns that neonicotinoid pesticides may pose reproductive risks on human reproductive health, especially in professional populations.
乙酰甲胺磷（ACE）和吡虫啉（IMI）是新烟碱类杀虫剂家族中的两个主要成员，它们对昆虫具有更高的选择性。本研究采用生殖毒理学综合测试策略，确定并比较了 ACE、IMI 和尼古丁对哺乳动物生殖的体外效应，该策略涵盖了精子质量、精子穿透卵母细胞和着床前胚胎发育。在获能期间对精子进行直接化学暴露（500µM 或 5mM），并在体外受精（IVF）过程中，用化学补充培养基孵育受精卵和 2 细胞胚胎，直至囊胚形成，以评估这些化学物质的生殖毒性，并监测受影响的主要阶段。一般来说，用 500µM 或 5mM 化学物质处理 30 分钟不会显著改变精子活力和 DNA 完整性，但会降低体外受精（IVF）过程中的受精能力，这表明 IVF 过程可以检测和区分暴露于不同化学物质的精子的细微影响。在培养基中存在化学物质的培养实验表明，受精过程和受精卵受到化学物质直接暴露的不利影响（P<0.05），按尼古丁>IMI>ACE 的顺序排列，而 2 细胞期胚胎的发育进展与对照相似（P>0.05）。这些发现揭示了新烟碱类杀虫剂暴露对哺乳动物精子受精能力和胚胎发育的危害作用，引起了人们对新烟碱类杀虫剂可能对人类生殖健康构成生殖风险的关注，特别是在职业人群中。
