Smart\nRNA Sequencing\nReveals the Toxicological Effects\nof Diisobutyl Phthalate (DiBP) in Porcine Oocytes

Diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) is commonly\nused in the plastics\nindustry,\nand recent studies have shown that environmental exposure and accumulation\nin the food chain caused inflammation in some organs. However, the\nunderlying mechanisms by which DiBP affects oocyte quality have not\nyet been fully defined. We used immunostaining and fluorescence to\nevaluate the effects of DiBP exposure and demonstrated that it impaired\nthe morphology of matured porcine oocytes through generation of cytoplasmic\nfragmentation, accompanied by the perturbed dynamics of the spindle\nand actin cytoskeleton, misdistributed endoplasmic reticulum, as well\nas partial exocytosis of cortical granules and ovastacin. Moreover,\nanalysis of Smart RNA-seq found that DiBP-induced aberrant oocyte\nmaturation could be induced by abnormal mitochondrial function and\napoptosis. Importantly, we discovered that supplementation with pyrroloquinoline\nquinone (PQQ) significantly attenuated the meiotic abnormalities induced\nby DiBP exposure through the modulation of reactive oxygen species\nlevels. Our findings demonstrated that DiBP exposure adversely affects\noocyte meiotic maturation and that PQQ supplementation was an effective\nstrategy to protect oocyte quality against DiBP exposure.