10-gingerol induces oxidative stress through HTR1A in cumulus cells: in-vitro and in-silico studies

Background We investigated whether 10-gingerol is able to induce oxidative stress in cumulus cells. Methods For the in-vitro research, we used a cumulus cell culture in M199, containing 10-gingerol in various concentrations (0, 12, 16, and 20 µM), and detected oxidative stress through superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, with incubation periods of 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The obtained results were confirmed by in-silico studies. Results The in-vitro data revealed that SOD activity and MDA concentration increased with increasing incubation periods: SOD activity at 0 µM (1.39 ± 0.24i), 12 µM (16.42 ± 0.35ab), 16 µM (17.28 ± 0.55ab), 20 µM (17.81 ± 0.12a), with a contribution of 71.1%. MDA concentration at 0 µM (17.82 ± 1.39 l), 12 µM (72.99 ± 0.31c), 16 µM (79.77 ± 4.19b), 20 µM (85.07 ± 2.57a), with a contribution of 73.1%. Based on this, the in-silico data uncovered that 10-gingerol induces oxidative stress in cumulus cells by inhibiting HTR1A functions and inactivating GSK3B and AKT-1. Conclusions 10-gingerol induces oxidative stress in cumulus cells through enhancing SOD activity and MDA concentration by inhibiting HTR1A functions and inactivating GSK3B and AKT-1.