Benzo(a)pyrene disrupts mouse preimplantation embryo development
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Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Shaoquan Zhan1, Xiya Zhang1, Shanbo Cao2
1Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine of Guangdong Province, First Affiliated Hospital and School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
To determine the effects of Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) on the development of early preimplantation embryo by exposure to physiologic concentrations of BaP based on a previous report in human ovarian follicular fluid and serum.
Design:
Zygotes were cultured in 5 nM or 50 nM BaP and then examined for development efficiency, embryo quality, and DNA damage. In addition, embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were used as a model to test the toxic effects of BaP on inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocysts.
Setting:
Laboratory.
Animal(S):
CD1 mice.
Intervention(S):
Mouse zygotes and ESCs were cultured in medium with 5 nM or 50 nM BaP.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The percentage (rate) of blastocyst development, reactive oxygen species level, and quality of embryos assessed by total cell number, cell apoptosis, Oct4- and Nanog-positive cell ratio, and DNA damage on genomic and telomeric DNA were compared between dimethyl sulfoxide control and BaP treatments.
Result(S):
The BaP-treated zygotes exhibited significantly higher reactive oxygen species activity, which might lead to more cell apoptosis, low ratio of Nanog- or Oct4-positive ICM cells, and increasing DNA damage in both genomic and telomeric DNA in blastocysts. By using mouse ESCs derived from ICM cells as a model, we showed that pluripotent cells might also show serious DNA damage after a brief exposure to BaP.
Conclusion(S):
Our data show that BaP could seriously disrupt cell growth and genomic DNA stability and increase cell apoptosis in mouse preimplantation embryo development.
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