Fu Yan, Huang Xu, Wang Siyuan, Guo Qitong, Wu Yuhao, Zheng Xiangqin, Wang Junke, Wu Shengde, Shen Lianju, Wei Guanghui
Department of Urology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China.
Pediatric Research Institute, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Structural Birth Defect and Reconstruction, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China.
Genes Dis. 2025 Mar 14;12(5):101601. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101601. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Chlorpyrifos (CPF), a widely used organophosphate pesticide, accumulates in the environment and affects human health. Its neurotoxicity has been extensively studied, and recent research has revealed that it can also lead to abnormal spermatogenesis. However, the factors and molecular mechanisms involved remain unclear. In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were gavaged with different concentrations of CPF for 30 days, resulting in a disrupted blood-testis barrier (BTB) and abnormal spermatogenesis. RNA sequencing analysis of Sertoli cells, the primary components of the BTB and key targets of environmental toxins, revealed that ferroptosis-related genes were predominantly among the differentially expressed genes. The expression of ferroptosis-related markers was up-regulated, malondialdehyde and Fe levels were elevated, and glutathione levels were reduced in CPF-exposed testicular tissue and its metabolite TCP-exposed Sertoli cells, confirming that CPF exposure triggered ferroptosis in testes and Sertoli cells. Moreover, treatment with ferrostatin-1, a ferroptosis inhibitor, restored Sertoli cell junctional function. Given the important roles of clockophagy and the HIF-1α pathway in ferroptosis, we investigated the activity of clockophagy in testes and Sertoli cells. Unexpectedly, clockophagy activity was found to be enhanced by the significantly reduced expression levels of ARNTL and HIF-1α following CPF and TCP exposure. Notably, knockdown impaired Sertoli cell junctional function. Collectively, these findings strongly indicate that CPF induces ferroptosis in Sertoli cells through activating clockophagy, resulting in the decreased expression of HIF-1α and BTB-associated proteins; this ultimately leads to the disruption of BTB integrity and spermatogenesis dysfunction.
毒死蜱(CPF)是一种广泛使用的有机磷农药,会在环境中蓄积并影响人体健康。其神经毒性已得到广泛研究,最近的研究表明它还会导致精子发生异常。然而,其中涉及的因素和分子机制仍不清楚。在本研究中,对雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠灌胃不同浓度的CPF,持续30天,导致血睾屏障(BTB)破坏和精子发生异常。对构成BTB的主要成分以及环境毒素的关键靶点——支持细胞进行RNA测序分析,结果显示铁死亡相关基因在差异表达基因中占主导地位。在暴露于CPF的睾丸组织及其代谢产物TCP的支持细胞中,铁死亡相关标志物的表达上调,丙二醛和铁水平升高,谷胱甘肽水平降低,这证实了CPF暴露会引发睾丸和支持细胞中的铁死亡。此外,用铁死亡抑制剂铁抑素-1进行处理可恢复支持细胞的连接功能。鉴于生物钟自噬和HIF-1α通路在铁死亡中的重要作用,我们研究了睾丸和支持细胞中生物钟自噬的活性。出乎意料的是,在CPF和TCP暴露后,ARNTL和HIF-1α的表达水平显著降低,从而增强了生物钟自噬活性。值得注意的是,基因敲低会损害支持细胞的连接功能。总的来说,这些发现有力地表明,CPF通过激活生物钟自噬诱导支持细胞中的铁死亡,导致HIF-1α和BTB相关蛋白的表达降低;这最终导致BTB完整性破坏和精子发生功能障碍。
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