After maternal intake, nicotine crosses the placental barrier and causes severe embryonic disorders and fetal death. In this study, we investigated whether β-carotene has a beneficial effect against nicotine-induced teratogenesis in mouse embryos (embryonic day 8.5) cultured for 48 h in a whole embryo culture system. Embryos exposed to nicotine (1 mM) exhibited severe morphological anomalies and apoptotic cell death, as well as increased levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and caspase 3 mRNAs, and lipid peroxidation. The levels of cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase (SOD), mitochondrial manganese-dependent SOD, cytosolic glutathione peroxidase (GPx), phospholipid hydroperoxide GPx, hypoxia inducible factor 1α, and Bcl-xL mRNAs decreased, and SOD activity was reduced compared to the control group. However, when β-carotene (1×10-7 or 5×10-7M) was present in cultures of embryos exposed to nicotine, these parameters improved significantly. These findings indicate that β-carotene effectively protects against nicotine-induced teratogenesis in mouse embryos through its antioxidative, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory activities. © 2013 Chunmei Lin et al.
CITATION STYLE
Lin, C., Yon, J. M., Jung, A. Y., Lee, J. G., Jung, K. Y., Lee, B. J., … Nam, S. Y. (2013). Antiteratogenic effects of β -carotene in cultured mouse embryos exposed to nicotine. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/575287
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