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Updated: Aug 27, 2025
Analysis of Chromosome Segregation, Histone Acetylation, and Spindle Morphology in Horse Oocytes
Published on: May 11, 2017
Bromoacetic acid impairs mouse oocyte in vitro maturation through affecting cytoskeleton architecture and epigenetic
Yong-Sheng Wang1, Li-Dan Zhang2, Xv Zhou2
1Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Education Ministry of China, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China; National 111 Center for Cellular Regulation and Molecular Pharmaceutics, Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430068, People's Republic of China; National Center for International Research on Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction (NCIRAGBR), Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
As a major public health achievement, disinfection of drinking water significantly decreases outbreaks of waterborne disease, but produces drinking water disinfection by-products (DBPs) unfortunately. The haloacetic acids (HAAs) including bromoacetic acid (BAA), the second major class of DBPs, are considered as a global public health concern. BAA has been identified as cytotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic in somatic cells. However, the toxic effects of BAA on oocyte maturation remain obscure. Herein, we documented that exposure to BAA compromised mouse oocyte maturation in vitro, causing blocked polar body extrusion (PBE). Meiotic progression analysis demonstrated that exposure to BAA induced the activated spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) mediated metaphase I (MI) arrest in oocytes. Further study revealed that exposure to BAA resulted in the hyperacetylation of α-tubulin, disrupting spindle assembly and chromosome alignment, which is responsible for the activation of SAC. Besides, the organization of actin, the other major component of cytoskeleton in oocytes, was disturbed after BAA exposure. In addition, exposure to BAA altered the status of histone H3 methylation and 5 mC, indicative of the damaged epigenetic modifications. Moreover, we found that exposure to BAA induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner in oocytes. Collectively, our study evidenced that exposure to BAA intervened mouse oocyte maturation via disrupting cytoskeletal dynamics, damaging epigenetic modifications and inducing accumulation of DNA damage.
