Attenuate The Toxic Effect of Ethanol during Oocyte Maturation with Alpha-Lipoic Acid in Sheep

Background: Alcohol abuse during unprotected sexual intercoursemay have devastating effect on health of future progenythrough affecting the quality of oocyte and embryo for furtherdevelopment. Previous studies have shown that alpha-lipoicacid (ALA) as an antioxidant has protective effect against al cohol toxicity.Materials and Methods: In this study ovine cumulus oocytecomplexes (COCs) were matured in control, ALA (۲۵ μM) +ethanol (۱% (v/v)) and ethanol groups. Cumulus expansion index,ROS and GSH level were assessed after oocyte maturation.Subsequently, developmental competence of matured oocyteswas assessed in terms of cleavage and blastocyst rates. Finally,DNA fragmentation and gene expression were analyzed in resultantblastocysts.Results: The results revealed that alcohol significantly reducedcumulus expansion index, blastocyst yield and rate of apoptosisin resultant blastocysts. Addition of ۲۵ μM ALA to ۱% alcoholduring oocyte maturation decreased ROS level and elevatedGSH content. Furthermore, supplementation of maturation mediumwith ALA attenuated the effect of ۱% ethanol and significantlyincreased the blastocyst formation and hatching rate incompared to control and ethanol groups. In addition, quality ofderived blastocysts in ALA + ethanol was improved based onTUNEL positive cells, mRNA expression of apoptotic, pluripotentand anti-oxidant markers.Conclusion: Our results suggest that ALA not only overcomesthe negative effect of alcohol toxicity during oocyte maturationbut also improved blastocyst yield and quality of resultantembryos. Therefore, ALA as a food supplement, or as a chemicalhighly available in green vegetable, is recommended forcouples planning to achieve pregnancy and is highly recommendedfor individuals at risk of alcohol abuse with possibleunprotected sexual intercourse who may not have also healthyeating habits.

کلیدواژه ها:

Alpha Lipoic Acid ، Alcohol ، Oocyte Maturation ، ROS ، Apoptosis