AMBRA1 activation alleviates zearalenone-induced swine testicular cell ferroptosis by facilitating mitophagy

In conclusion, our study demonstrated that ZEA targeted the AMBRA1, leading to down-regulation of AMBRA1 expression, which in turn inhibited mitophagy and thus resulted in ferroptosis in ST cells. Given the potential role of AMBRA1 in ST cells, our results uncover a previously unrecognized mechanism in which AMBRA1-mediated mitophagy functions as a crucial defense target against ferroptosis in testicular cells. Importantly, our results propose a unique insight which AMBRA1 as a promising therapeutic target for counteracting mycotoxin-induced testicular injury in animals.