72 Protective Effects of C-Phycocyanin on the Developmental Competence of Porcine Parthenotes

Abstract

C-Phycocyanin (CP) is a biliprotein enriched in blue-green algae that is known to possess antioxidant, anti-apoptosis, anti-inflammatory, and radical-scavenging properties in somatic cells. However, the protective effect of CP on porcine embryo developmental competence in vitro remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of CP on the development of porcine early embryos as well as its underlying mechanisms exposing them to H₂O₂ to induce oxidative stress. The levels of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, apoptosis, DNA damage, and autophagy in the blastocysts were observed by staining with 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCF-DA), 5,5′,6,6’-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide (JC-1), terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2′-deoxyuridine 5′-triphosphate (dUTP) nick-end labelling (TUNEL), anti-cytochrome c, and anti-γH2A.X (Ser139), respectively. Colocalization assay of mitochondria and cytochrome c of blastocysts were staining with MitoTracker Red CMXRos and anti-cytochrome c. All data were subjected to one-way ANOVA. Different concentrations of CP (1, 2, 5, 8, 10 µg mL⁻¹) were added to porcine zygote medium 5 (PZM-5, l-glutamine concentration of PZM-3 was modified from 1 to 2 mM) during in vitro culture. The results showed that 5 µg mL⁻¹ CP significantly increased blastocyst formation (62.5 ± 2.1 v. 52.7 ± 2.4; P < 0.05) and hatching rate (10.9 ± 1.9 v. 36.6 ± 5.2; P < 0.05) compared with controls. Blastocyst formation (53.1 ± 2.3 v. 40.1 ± 2.3; P < 0.05) and quality were significantly increased in the 50 µM H₂O₂ treatment group following 5 µg mL⁻¹ CP addition. C-Phycocyanin prevented the H₂O₂-induced compromise of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria, and generation of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, apoptosis, DNA damage level, and autophagy in the blastocysts were attenuated by supplementation of CP in the H₂O₂-induced oxidative injury group compared with that in controls. These results suggest that CP has beneficial effects on the development of porcine parthenotes by attenuating mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress.