Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in particulate matter that has a diameter of ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5). Studies have demonstrated that BaP exposure causes oocyte meiotic arrest in mice. However, whether BaP exposure also affects oocyte maturation in offspring remains unclear. To test this, female mice were administered BaP before pregnancy to generate BaP-exposed offspring. Our findings showed that BaP exposure reduced the in vitro maturation and increased the abnormalities of meiotic apparatus in offspring oocytes. In addition, BaP exposure reduced the mitochondrial content and intracellular ATP generation, induced early apoptosis, increased reactive oxidative species accumulation and the genomic DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mc) level in offspring oocytes. Along with the abovementioned defective parameters, maternal BaP exposure further compromised the embryo developmental competence of offspring oocytes. In summary, our study demonstrated that maternal BaP exposure compromised offspring oocyte maturation and quality.

苯并[a] py（BaP）是颗粒物质中的多环芳烃（PAH），直径≤2.5μm（PM2.5）。研究表明，BaP暴露可引起小鼠卵母细胞减数分裂停滞。但是，BaP暴露是否还会影响后代的卵母细胞成熟尚不清楚。为了测试这一点，在怀孕前给雌性小鼠施用BaP，以产生暴露于BaP的后代。我们的研究结果表明，BaP暴露会降低体外成熟并增加后代卵母细胞减数分裂装置的异常。此外，BaP暴露降低了后代卵母细胞的线粒体含量和细胞内ATP的产生，诱导了早期细胞凋亡，增加了活性氧化物质的积累以及基因组DNA 5-甲基胞嘧啶（5mc）的水平。除上述缺陷参数外，母体BaP暴露进一步损害了后代卵母细胞的胚胎发育能力。总而言之，我们的研究表明母体BaP暴露会损害后代卵母细胞的成熟和质量。