This study aimed to describe glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) in rat oocytes, preimplantation embryos, and female genital organs. After copulation, Sprague Dawley female rats were euthanized with anesthetic on the first (D1), third (D3), and fifth days of pregnancy (D5). Ovaries, oviducts, and uterine horns were removed, and oocytes and preimplantation embryos were obtained. Immunohistochemical, immunofluorescent, and Western blot methods were employed. Using immunofluorescence, we detected GPx4 in both the oocytes and preimplantation embryos. Whereas in the oocytes, GPx4 was homogeneously diffused, in the blastomeres, granules were formed, and in the blastocysts, even clusters were present mainly around the cell nuclei. Employing immunohistochemistry, we detected GPx4 inside the ovary in the corpus luteum, stroma, follicles, and blood vessels. In the oviduct, the enzyme was present in the epithelium, stroma, blood vessels, and smooth muscles. In the uterus, GPx4 was found in the endometrium, myometrium, blood vessels, and stroma. Moreover, we observed GPx4 positive granules in the uterine gland epithelium on D1 and D3 and cytoplasm of fibroblasts forming in the decidua on D5. Western blot showed the highest GPx4 levels in the uterus and the lowest levels in the ovary. Our results show that the GPx4 is necessary as early as in the preimplantation development of a new individual because we detected it in an unfertilized oocyte in a blastocyst and not only after implantation, as was previously thought.
Keywords: antioxidant; glutathione peroxidase; infertility; oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species; reproductive system.