Relationship between body conditions and environmental contaminants in bovine ovarian cells

The effect of body condition and environmental contaminants on reproductive processes is known; however, it is not known whether basic ovarian cell functions and their response to these contaminants depend on body condition. This study aimed to understand the interrelationships between body conditions and environmental contaminants on ovarian cells. For this purpose, we compared ovarian granulosa cells isolated from cows with an emaciation tendency (body condition score, BCS2 on a scale from 1 to 5) and cows with average body condition (BCS3); proliferation, apoptosis, secretory activity and the response to environmental contaminants were all assessed in the cells. In the 1st series of experiments, ovarian granulosa cells isolated from BCS2 and BCS3 cows were cultured with and without benzene, xylene, and toluene (0.1%). The accumulation of nuclear and cytoplasmic markers of apoptosis (p53 and bax, respectively), a proliferation marker (PCNA), progesterone (P4), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) was evaluated by Western blot and radioimmunoassay (RIA) experiments. In the 2nd series of experiments, the groups of granulosa cells were cultured with and without mycotoxine deoxynivalenol (DON, 0, 10, 100, or 1000 ng/ml). The secretion of P4 and testosterone (T) was measured by RIA. In comparison to cells from BCS2 animals, ovarian cells isolated from BCS3 cows accumulated higher levels of bax and PCNA but not p53, and they secreted higher amounts of IGF-I but not P4 or T. In cells from BCS2 animals, benzene and xylene promoted p53 accumulation, and toluene reduced the accumulation. In the BCS2 group, all treatments promoted bax and PCNA expression. However, in cells from BCS3 animals, all environmental pollutants inhibited p53, toluene inhibited PCNA but not bax, and xylene did not affect the expression of proliferation or apoptosis markers. In the BCS2 group, P4 was inhibited by xylene, and IGF-I was stimulated by xylene but not by benzene or toluene. Low-dose exposure to DON (10 ng/ml) promoted P4 release from cells from both BCS2 and BCS3 animals, but high-dose exposure to DON (1000 ng/ml) reduced P4 secretion from the cells from BCS2 animals but not from the cells from BCS3 animals. The release of T was inhibited by high-dose exposure to DON (1000 ng/ml), irrespective of the BCS. An emaciation tendency reduces proliferation, apoptosis, and IGF-I release, and it induces or reverses the action of environmental contaminants on ovarian functions. Taken together, these observations demonstrate the effect of body condition and the direct influence of environmental contaminants on basic bovine ovarian functions. Furthermore, they demonstrate for the first time that the response of ovarian cells to environmental contaminants can be regulated by cow body condition.