College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, Heilongjiang Province, China.
Guangdong Vocational College of Science and Trade, Guangzhou, China.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2019 Apr;188(2):468-477. doi: 10.1007/s12011-018-1427-6. Epub 2018 Jul 4.
The aim of this study is to investigate whether copper (Cu) could induce testicular poisoning and influence the mitochondrial dynamics, apoptosis, and autophagy in chickens. For this purpose, thirty-six 1-day-old male Hy-line chickens were divided into control group (C group) and test group (Cu group). The chickens were exposed to 0 (C group) or 300 mg/kg (Cu group) of copper sulfate (CuSO) for 30, 60, and 90 days. CuSO was added into the basal diet to make supplements. Testis tissues were subjected to observation of ultrastructure and detection of testis-related indexes. The results indicated that in the test group, the levels of the pro-apoptotic genes were up-regulated and the levels of the anti-apoptotic genes were down-regulated; the levels of mitochondrial fission-related genes markedly increased, and the levels of mitochondrial fusion-related genes were highly decreased; autophagy-related gene (autophagy-associated gene 4B (ATG4B), dynein, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (LC3-II), ATG5, and beclin-1) levels were increased, while mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and LC3-I levels were declined. The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that Cu induced mitochondrial fragmentation, which induced autophagy and apoptosis in chicken testes. In conclusion, CuSO exposure can influence the mitochondrial dynamics balance and lead to mitochondria-initiated intrinsic pathway of apoptosis and autophagy, which triggers the testicular poisoning in chickens. What is more, there is a correlation among mitochondrial dynamics, apoptosis, and autophagy.
本研究旨在探讨铜（Cu）是否会导致睾丸中毒，并影响鸡的线粒体动力学、细胞凋亡和自噬。为此，将 36 只 1 日龄雄性海兰鸡分为对照组（C 组）和试验组（Cu 组）。鸡分别暴露于 0（C 组）或 300mg/kg（Cu 组）的硫酸铜（CuSO）中 30、60 和 90 天。CuSO 添加到基础日粮中作为补充。对睾丸组织进行超微结构观察和睾丸相关指标检测。结果表明，在试验组中，促凋亡基因水平上调，抗凋亡基因水平下调；线粒体分裂相关基因水平显著增加，线粒体融合相关基因水平显著降低；自噬相关基因（自噬相关基因 4B（ATG4B）、动力蛋白、微管相关蛋白 1 轻链 3β（LC3-II）、ATG5 和 beclin-1）水平升高，而哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）和 LC3-I 水平下降。透射电子显微镜（TEM）结果表明，Cu 诱导线粒体碎片化，导致鸡睾丸发生自噬和凋亡。综上所述，CuSO 暴露可影响线粒体动力学平衡，导致线粒体引发的细胞凋亡和自噬内在途径，引发鸡的睾丸中毒。更重要的是，线粒体动力学、细胞凋亡和自噬之间存在相关性。
