Safari Manouchehr, Parsaie Houman, Sameni Hamid Reza, Aldaghi Mohammad Reza, Zarbakhsh Sam
Nervous System Stem Cells Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
Nervous System Stem Cells Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran. Electronic Address:
Int J Fertil Steril. 2018 Jun;12(3):257-262. doi: 10.22074/ijfs.2018.5392. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
Apigenin is a plant-derived compound belonging to the flavonoids category and bears protective effects on different cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of apigenin on the number of viable and apoptotic blastomeres, the zona pellucida (ZP) thickness and hatching rate of pre-implantation mouse embryos exposed to HO and actinomycin D.
In this experimental study, 420 two-cell embryos were randomly divided into six groups: i. Control, ii. Apigenin, iii. HO, iv. Apigenin+HO, v. Actinomycin D, and vi. Apigenin+Actinomycin D. The percentage of blastocysts and hatched blastocysts was calculated. Blastocyst ZP thickness was also measured. In addition, viable blastomeres quantity was counted by Hoechst and propidium iodide staining and the number of apoptotic blastomeres was counted by TUNEL assay.
The results of viable and apoptotic blastomeres quantity, the ZP thickness, and the percentage of blastocysts and hatched blastocysts were significantly more favorable in the apigenin group, rather than the control group (P<0.05). The results of the apigenin+HO group were significantly more favorable than the HO group (P<0.05); and the results of apigenin+actinomycin D group were significantly more favorable than actinomycin D group (P<0.05).
The results suggest that apigenin may protect mouse embryos against HO and actinomycin D. So that it increases the number of viable blastomeres and decreases the number of apoptotic blastomeres, which may cause expanding the blastocysts, thinning of the ZP thickness and increasing the rate of hatching in mouse embryos.
芹菜素是一种植物来源的化合物，属于黄酮类，对不同细胞具有保护作用。本研究的目的是评估芹菜素对暴露于过氧化氢（HO）和放线菌素D的植入前小鼠胚胎的活卵裂球数量、凋亡卵裂球数量、透明带（ZP）厚度和孵化率的影响。
在本实验研究中，将420个二细胞胚胎随机分为六组：i. 对照组；ii. 芹菜素组；iii. HO组；iv. 芹菜素+HO组；v. 放线菌素D组；vi. 芹菜素+放线菌素D组。计算囊胚和孵化囊胚的百分比。还测量了囊胚的ZP厚度。此外，通过Hoechst和碘化丙啶染色计算活卵裂球数量，通过TUNEL法计算凋亡卵裂球数量。
芹菜素组活卵裂球数量、凋亡卵裂球数量、ZP厚度以及囊胚和孵化囊胚百分比的结果明显优于对照组（P<0.05）。芹菜素+HO组的结果明显优于HO组（P<0.05）；芹菜素+放线菌素D组的结果明显优于放线菌素D组（P<0.05）。
结果表明芹菜素可能保护小鼠胚胎免受HO和放线菌素D的影响。从而增加活卵裂球数量，减少凋亡卵裂球数量，这可能导致小鼠胚胎囊胚扩张、ZP厚度变薄和孵化率提高。
