Abstract
As one of the Maillard reaction products, furosine has been widely reported in a variety of heat-processed foods, while the toxicity of furosine on the reproductive system and related mechanisms are unclear. Here, we constructed an intragastric gavage male mice model (42-day administration, 0.1/0.25/0.5 g furosine/Kg body weight per day) to investigate its effects on mice testicle index, hormones in serum, and mice sperm quality. Besides, the lipid metabonomics analysis was performed to screen out the special metabolites and relatively altered pathways in mice testicle tissue. Mice primary sertoli cells were separated from male mice testicle to validate the role of special metabolites in regulating pathways. We found that furosine affected testicle index, hormones expression level and sperm quality, as well as caused pathological damages in testicle tissue. Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:0/16:1) was upregulated by furosine both in mice testicle tissue and in primary sertoli cells, meanwhile, PE(18:0/16:1) was proved to activate Cep55/NF-κB/PI3K/Akt/FOX01/TNF-α pathway, and as a functional protein in dairy products, lactoferrin could inhibit expression of this pathway when combined with furosine. In conclusion, for the first time we validated that furosine posed toxic effects on mice sperms and testicle tissue through upregulating PE(18:0/16:1) and activating Cep55/NF-κB/PI3K/Akt/FOX01/TNF-α pathway.