Publications by authors named "Ai-Hong Zhao"

Aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), a type I carcinogen widely present in the environment, not only poses a danger to animal husbandry, but also poses a potential threat to human reproductive health, but its mechanism is still unclear. To address this question, multi-omics were performed on porcine Sertoli cells and mice testis. The data suggest that AFB1 induced testicular damage manifested as decreased expression of GJA1, ZO1 and OCCLUDIN in mice (p < 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widely used plastics additive that growing evidence indicates as endocrine disruptor able to negatively affect various reproductive processes both in female and male animals, including humans. However, the precise molecular mechanism of such actions is not completely understood. In the present study, scRNA-seq was performed on the ovaries of offspring from mothers exposed to DEHP from 16.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) has proven characteristics of an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), which can threaten the reproductive health of humans and other animals. In mammals, a series of chromosomal events occur during the meiotic stage of oocytes. External toxins may enter the body and cause infertility and other related diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Zearalenone (ZEN) is a toxic estrogen-like compound produced by Fusarium fungi, raising concerns about its effects on reproduction due to its presence in food and feed.
  • - Research showed that ZEN exposure decreased the viability of Sertoli cells and induced apoptosis, alongside increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and markers of DNA damage.
  • - The study also found reduced levels of key proteins (occludin and connexin 43) that are vital for maintaining the testis-blood barrier and communication between Sertoli cells, highlighting ZEN's harmful impact on cell function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous works have shown that zearalenone (ZEA), as an estrogenic pollutant, has adverse effects on mammalian folliculogenesis. In the present study, we found that prolonged exposure of female mice to ZEA around the end of pregnancy caused severe impairment of primordial follicle formation in the ovaries of newborn mice and altered the expression of many genes in oocytes as revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). These changes were associated with morphological and molecular alterations of mitochondria, increased autophagic markers in oocytes, and epigenetic changes in the ovaries of newborn mice from ZEA-exposed mothers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Zearalenone (ZEN), a common non-steroidal estrogenic mycotoxin of the Fusarium genus, is one of the most frequent and powerful contaminant of grains and cereal products representing a serious threat for people and livestock health. In fact, ZEN causes cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in a variety of cell types at least in part through binding to estrogen receptors (ERs). The main pathways through which ZEN induces such effects remain, however, elusive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Maternal exposure to ZEN negatively affects the assembly of primordial follicles in offspring, leading to reduced quantities of these follicles in their ovaries.
  • * The study findings suggest that ZEN exposure alters important signaling pathways and epigenetic modifications in the offspring, ultimately hindering their reproductive potential as they mature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Natural and synthetic environmental estrogens (EEs), interfering with the physiological functions of the body's estrogens, are widespread and are rising much concern for their possible deleterious effects on human and animal health, in particular on reproduction. In fact, increasing evidence indicate that EEs can be responsible for a variety of disfunctions of the reproductive system especially in females such as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Because of their great structural diversity, the modes of action of EEs are controversial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Zearalenone (ZEN), a pollutant in our daily diet, seriously threatens the reproductive health of humans and animals. The primordial follicle (PF) assembly in the mouse occurs during the perinatal period, which determines the whole ovarian reserve in reproductive lifespan. In the current investigation, we administered ZEN orally to perinatal mice from 16.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two new phenolic glycoside, 2-methoxy-4-hydroxylphenyl-1-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl- (1″ → 6')-β-D-glucopyranoside. (1) and threo-3-methoxy-5-hydroxy-phenylpropanetriol-8-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), were isolated from the stems of Zanthoxylum armatum. The compounds 1 and 2 showed weak scavenging activity in DPPH free radical assay with IC values of 323 and 114 mM, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The roots of Angelica dahurica cv. Qibaizhi is frequently used in clinical practice as a traditional Chinese medicine. However, a comprehensive study of the pharmacokinetics of this medicine has not been carried out.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Four new coumarins (2',3'-dihydroxyphellopterin, E-5-methoxytrichoclin acetate, Z-5-methoxytrichoclin acetate, and E-5-methoxytrichoclin) and three known coumarins (byakangelicol, byakangelicin, and Z-5-methoxytrichoclin) were produced by liver microsomes from rats pre-treated with sodium phenobarbital. The chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of their spectroscopic data. The inhibitory activities of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophage-like cell line RAW264.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the present paper, a method was developed for the determination of Cd and Pb by ICP-AES. The effects of two different sample treatment methods, including wet digestion method and dry ash method, were compared. The contents of Cd and Pb in Danshen (Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae) grown in some areas of Shandong were determined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF