Knockout of TRPM2 protects against cyclophosphamide-induced premature ovarian failure via inhibiting AMPK/p53 signaling pathway

Abstract

The global prevalence of premature ovarian failure (POF) is from 3.1 % to 4.3 %, which is a multifactorial disease including genetics, environmental and medical factors. However, the occurrence of POF is not well understood. To further explore the potential mechanism of POF, cyclophosphamide (CTX) was used to construct the model of POF. Additionally, the occurrence of POF was related to oxidative stress, apoptosis, proliferation and others. Ca²⁺ is essential for almost all life processes. Therefore, TRPM2-deficient mice was used to explore the role of Ca²⁺ in POF. The results indicated that the mouse serum E₂ and AMH levels decreased, FSH and LH levels increased, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes including CAT, SOD and GSH decreased with mtROS accumulation in the ovary, thereby causing ovarian DNA damage, promoting ovarian cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation after wild-type mice exposed to CTX. Notably, these indicators have improved after TRPM2^−/−. Based on these, we have further proved that the activation TRPM2 channel could lead to intracellular Ca²⁺ overload, plentiful Ca²⁺ bind to calmodulin accompanied with mitochondrial ROS accumulation, thereby activating AMPK/p53 signaling pathway, inducing proliferation arrest and excessive apoptosis. We hope to provide therapeutic targets to prevent the occurrence of POF by studying the potential mechanism of POF.