Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a type B trichothecene mycotoxin which has toxic effects on humans and animals. Although DON has been studied in various cell types for its cytotoxicity, there is litter information about the effects of DON on mouse endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Thus, in this study, we investigated the toxic effects of DON on mouse ESCs and its possible mechanisms. DON inhibited the cell viability in a dose-and time-dependent manner. TUNEL assay results showed that DON caused apoptosis and TUNEL-positive cells increased with increasing DON concentrations in mouse ESCs. Western blot showed that DON significantly increased the expression levels of apoptosis-related protein including Caspase-9, Caspase-3, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2. After DON treatment, the expression levels of cell cycle-related protein including p38/p-p38, Cdc25C/p-Cdc25C, Cdc2/p-Cdc2 and cyclinB1 were significantly decreased and immunoprecipitation analysis showed that cyclinB1-Cdc2 complex was significantly decreased. However, the combination of SB203580 (p38 specific inhibitor) and DON treatment significantly reversed the depression of Cdc25C/p-Cdc25C, Cdc2/p-Cdc2, cyclinB1 and cyclinB1-Cdc2 complex. Collectively, these data suggest that DON causes apoptosis via mitochondria apoptosis pathway and induces G2 arrest via p38 MAPK signaling pathway in mouse ESCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.