title: Effect of maternal obesity on estrous cyclicity, embryo development and blastocyst gene expression in a mouse model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Does maternal obesity affect estrous cyclicity, embryo development and blastocyst gene expression in mice?
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal obesity alters estrous cyclicity and causes the down-regulation of two key metabolite receptors (Slc2a1 and Ldlr) in blastocysts recovered from diet-induced obese females, but embryo development is not affected.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Maternal obesity reduces fertility because of effects in the periconception period, but its negative influence is on estrous cyclicity, oocyte quality or embryo development.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a randomized study based on a mouse model for obesity. Twenty-one outbred NIH Swiss mice were used and obesity was induced by a diet high in fat administered for 12 weeks prior to breeding to control males.
  Females were fed either a control diet (C, n = 9) or a diet high in fat [diet-induced obesity (DiO), n = 12] for 12 weeks, and were then co-housed with fertile males. Mice that failed to breed during 20 consecutive days were considered infertile. Control and diet-induced obese females that demonstrated vaginal plugs were euthanized 3.5 days after mating, blood was sampled for glucose and hormone measurements, corpora lutea counted and embryos recovered; the relative mRNA abundance of 11 candidate genes was determined in blastocysts by qPCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five DiO females failed to breed and displayed anovulatory ovaries (DiOI), whereas the other seven DiO females (DiOF) could breed, albeit over an extended period compared with controls. DiOF weighed significantly less than DiOI. Both groups had elevated serum insulin compared with C, although blood glucose level was only significantly higher than that in controls in the infertile DiOI group. Adiponectin was lower in the DiOI and leptin higher in both the DiOI and DiOF mice than in C. DiOF ovulated the same number of oocytes as C, and embryo development to blastocyst was normal. The expression of genes encoding metabolic hormone receptors (Insr, Igf1r, Igf2r, Adipor1, Adipor2 and Lepr) and key metabolic enzymes (Gapdh, Cpt1a and Sod2) did not differ between DiOF and C blastocysts, but that of metabolite receptors (Slc2a1 and Ldr) was down-regulated in DiOF. To limit the role of chance, the experiments were conducted in a defined laboratory setting with the proper controls, and the animals were randomly assigned to each experimental group. Moreover, a P-value of < 0.05 was chosen to determine whether the differences observed between the groups were statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained may not fully extrapolate to humans. Also, as follicular activity was not monitored while breeding, so the extended breeding period for DiOF group might be explained by behavioral abnormalities occurring in normal cycling animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DiO alters the estrous cycle in the mouse model and demonstrates a role of obesity in infertility. The data also suggest that in an outbred, genetically diverse population, such as the human, individual susceptibility to obesity and associated infertility induced by diet exists. The apparently normal development to blastocyst observed in fertile, obese females suggests that preimplantation embryos can resist potentially adverse outcomes caused by an oversupply of fatty acids and glucose under in vivo conditions. This metabolic plasticity may, in part, be due to an ability to down-regulate metabolite transporters, thereby preventing excessive nutrient uptake.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The research was supported by funds from the University of Missouri, grants from the National Institutes of Health and by a fellowship from the Lalor Foundation. There were no competing interests.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Not applicable.
authors.affiliation: Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, 263a Life Sciences Center, 1201 Rollins St, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. borrillobermejo@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bermejo-Alvarez
authors.forename: Cheryl S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rosenfeld
authors.forename: R Michael
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000378:metabolism*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D004971:Estrus / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011973:Receptors, LDL; C495678:Slc2a1 protein, mouse