N-Acetylcysteine relieving hydrogen peroxide-induced damage in granulosa cells of sheep

Sheep ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) play a unique role in the ovary. Damage to GCs can affect the normal development of oocytes. The oxidative stress model was constructed by H₂O₂to study the biological changes. Specifically, pathological characteristic was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), while signaling pathway was studied using western blot, quantitative RT-PCR, and immunofluorescence. Theresults showed that the oxidative damage model was successfully constructed by 200 μmol/LH₂O₂ for 12 h. NAC can protect the proliferation of GCs under H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress and reduce apoptosis. It can also promote the secretion of E₂ and P₄ by GCs and reduce the inflammatory response of GCs. NAC can enhance the expression of NRF2, PI3K and Akt. These findings suggest that NAC alleviates H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress injury through NRF2/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Provide ideas for studying the poor quality of mammalian oocytes.