Iron Overload-Induced Ferroptosis Impairs Porcine Oocyte Maturation and Subsequent Embryonic Developmental Competence in vitro

Accumulating evidence indicates that ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death. This type of iron-dependent programmed cell death is different from traditional forms of regulated cell death, such as apoptosis and autophagy. However, the role of ferroptosis in porcine oocyte maturation and the associated mechanism remain unclear. In the present research, we investigated the effects of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC), a specific ferroptosis inducer, on porcine oocyte meiotic maturation and quality and subsequent embryonic developmental competence. FAC treatment caused obvious accumulation of intracellular ferrous ions in porcine oocytes. At the end of the in vitro maturation (IVM) period, there was a significant decrease in the polar body (PB) extrusion rate and an increase in the percentage of abnormal oocytes in the FAC treatment groups, indicating that iron overload-induced ferroptosis may suppress the meiotic process during porcine oocyte maturation. We also found that after FAC treatment, the subsequent two-cell rate, four-cell rate and blastocyst formation rate were significantly decreased in porcine parthenogenetic activation (PA) embryos, indicating that iron overload-induced ferroptosis decreased porcine oocyte quality. Further analysis revealed that FAC treatment not only enhanced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, decreased intracellular free thiol levels and induced mitochondrial dysfunction but also triggered autophagy in porcine oocytes. Taken together, these findings suggest that iron overload-induced ferroptosis impairs porcine oocyte meiosis and decreases porcine oocyte quality, possibly by increasing oxidative stress, inducing mitochondrial dysfunction and triggering autophagy.