HT-2 toxin affects cell viability of goat spermatogonial stem cells through AMPK-ULK1 autophagy pathways

HT-2 toxin is widely found in moldy crops and is the major metabolite of T-2 toxin, which has been shown to exert various toxic effects in farm animals. However, little is known about the effects of HT-2 toxin on male reproduction, particularly spermatogenesis. This study aims to investigate the toxic effects of HT-2 toxin on goat spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and related autophagy-regulated mechanisms. Our results showed that HT-2 toxin exposure resulted in decreased cell viability and proliferation, disrupted SSCs self-renewal, and reduced germ cell-related gene expression. HT-2 toxin exposure also induced oxidative stress and cell apoptosis, as shown by ROS accumulation, increased antioxidant enzyme activity levels, decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential, and increased caspase-9 mRNA and Bcl/bax protein levels. Additionally, HT-2 toxin exposure increased the expression of the autophagy-inducing genes Atg5, Atg7 and Beclin1 and the number of autophagosomes, which indicated that HT-2 toxin induced autophagy in the goat SSCs. Moreover, we also examined a possible mechanism by which HT-2 toxin exposure induced higher expression of AMPK, mTOR and ULK at both the mRNA and protein levels. our results indicated that HT-2 toxin caused apoptosis and autophagy by activating AMPK-mTOR-ULK1 pathway, which further affected SSCs viability.