Gastrodin protects porcine sertoli cells from zearalenone-induced abnormal secretion of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor through the NOTCH signaling pathway.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a prevalent mycotoxin found in moldy diets and is associated with reproductive dysfunction. However, the molecular underpinning of ZEA in impairment of spermatogenesis remains largely unknown. To unveil the toxic mechanism of ZEA, we established a co-culture model using porcine Sertoli cells and porcine spermatogonial stem cells (pSSCs) to investigate the impact of ZEA on these cell types and their associated signaling pathways. Our findings showed that low concentration of ZEA inhibited cell apoptosis, while high concentration induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the expression levels of Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) were significantly decreased in ZEA treatment group, while concurrently upregulating the transcriptional levels of the NOTCH signaling pathway target genes HES1 and HEY1. The addition of the NOTCH signaling pathway inhibitor DAPT (GSI-IX) alleviated the damage to porcine Sertoli cells caused by ZEA. Gastrodin (GAS) significantly increased the expression levels of WT1, PCNA and GDNF, and inhibited the transcription of HES1 and HEY1. GAS also efficiently restored the decreased expression levels of DDX4, PCNA and PGP9.5 in co-cultured pSSCs suggesting its potential in ameliorating the damage caused by ZEA to Sertoli cells and pSSCs. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that ZEA disrupts pSSCs self-renewal by affecting the function of porcine Sertoli cell, and highlights the protective mechanism of GAS through the regulation of the NOTCH signaling pathway. These findings may offer a novel strategy for alleviating ZEA-induced male reproductive dysfunction in animal production.