INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PHTHALATES ON THE QUALITY OF IN VITRO MATURED BOVINE CUMULUS-OOCYTE COMPLEX

• Grant number: 22/12386-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: November 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Anthony César de Souza Castilho
• Grantee: Vítor de Andrade Ferreira
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação. Universidade do Oeste Paulista (UNOESTE). Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The endocrine disrupters (EDs) from natural or artificial origin that are in the environment have the capacity to affect the endocrine system, may have an impact on female and male reproductive systems. The consequences of exposure to these agents depend on the concentration, the EDs category, the life stage and the time of exposure. In this context, those agents have the potential to interfere in the synthesis, secretion, transportation, metabolism, actions or elimination of responsible hormones for homeostasis in the reproductive health. Literature is needy of experimental evidences about the use of Eds with concentration that approach from the ones found in the environment and from the most complexes phthalates mixtures already identified. Knowing this, we hypothesized that the addition of mixture of six phthalates during the in vitro maturation (IVM) based on enviroment exposition will have negatively impacts on the cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). Therefore, this job aims to investigate the actions of phthalates mixture in the IVM of COCs, in following proportions: 36,7% of monoethyl phthalate (MEP), 19,4% of mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), 15,3% of monobutyl phthalate (MBP), 10,2% of monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), 10,2% of monoisononyl phthalate (MiNP) and 8,2% of monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP). After IVM, the COCs will go to cellular apoptosis analysis (active Caspase-3), meiotic progression (Hoechst staining) and gene expressions related to quality and bovine oocytes maturation by RT-qPCR. Analysis results will allow a broader view of damages and disruptions caused by a phthalate mixture, closer to the environmental exposures.