Portulaca Oleracea polysaccharides attenuate zearalenone-induced macrophage activation and Leydig cell dysfunction in...

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin with estrogenic activity that poses threat to global food safety and male reproductive health. In this study, we integrated single-cell transcriptomics, testicular and serum metabolomics, and gut microbiota analyses to identify ZEA target cell types in the testes and to investigate the detoxifying effects and mechanisms of Portulaca oleracea polysaccharides (POP, 20 mg/kg, oral, 14 days) in a male Kunming mouse model of ZEA-induced toxicity (20 mg/kg, oral, 7 days). Our results showed that ZEA primarily induced testicular toxicity by promoting macrophage M1 polarization and impairing Leydig cells. POP supplementation effectively reversed ZEA-induced testicular pathology, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, macrophage M1 polarization, and apoptosis. These improvements were closely associated with the restoration of testicular metabolic profiles, including recovery of simvastatin hydroxy acid, 1-deoxy-D-manno-heptulose, (-)-bornesitol, and succinic acid suppressed by ZEA. Mechanistically, POP modulated the gut-blood-testis axis by restoring gut microbiota diversity (particularly Muribaculaceae and Muribaculum intestinale) and metabolic function, regulating serum lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) and other phospholipids, ultimately improving the testicular microenvironment. Collectively, these findings indicate that ZEA impairs male reproductive function via macrophages and Leydig cells, whereas POP alleviates ZEA-induced reproductive toxicity through modulation of the gut-blood-testis axis.