Zearalenone damages the male reproductive system of rats by destroying testicular focal adhesion

Zearalenone (ZEA), a common mycotoxin in animal feed, is harmful to public health and causes huge economic losses. The potential target proteins of ZEA and its derivatives were screened using the PharmMapper database and the related genes (proteins) of the testis were obtained from Genecards. We obtained 144 potential targets of ZEA and its derivatives related to the testis using Venn diagrams. The PPI analysis showed that ZEA had the most targets in testis, followed by ZAN, alpha-ZAL, beta-ZEL, alpha-ZEL, and beta-ZAL. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) analyses evaluated the metabolic and cancer pathways. We further screened four hub genes: RAC3, CCND1, EP300, and CTNNB1. Eight key biological processes were obtained by GO analysis, and four important pathways were identified by KEGG analysis. Animal and cell experimental results confirmed that ZEA could inhibit the expression of four key KEGG pathway protein components and four hub proteins that interfere with cell adhesion by inhibiting the focal adhesion structure of the testis, Leydig cells, and Sertoli cells. Collectively, our findings reveal that the destruction of the focal adhesion structure in the testis is the mechanism through which ZEA damages the male reproductive system.