Disruptions in the Reproductive Ability of the Offspring Caused by Diet-induced Maternal Overweight

FALETTI, ALICIA GRACIELA

Los Ángeles

Congreso; 3th International Conference on Obesity and Chronic Diseases (ICOCD 2018); 2018

Sociedad de Obesidad

Maternal overnutrition may induce multiple pathologies both in the mother and in the offspring. The risk of these diseases has a direct relation to the degree of overweight or severity of maternal obesity. A poor quality of nutrition, by either excess or restriction, can disrupt the ovarian function, especially the development and quality of oocytes. Therefore, we studied the effect of maternal overweight and obesity on the ovarian reserve, follicular development, and ovulation of the offspring and to assess whether this maternal condition is able to alter oocyte integrity. To this end, female offspring from rats fed standard (OSD) or cafeteria (OCD) diet were used. Cafeteria feeding from weaning mimics the eating habits of many people from an early age and is effective inducing obesity. To relate the effects observed in the offspring to the different degree of overweight of their respective mothers, offspring were divided into 3 groups: offspring from rats with standard diet (OSD), and offspring from rats with 17% and 28% overweight (OCD17 and OCD28, respectively). Body weight, vaginal opening, and estrous cycle were recorded, and ovaries were obtained on the day of the second estrus. In addition, ovarian weight, ovulation rate (measured by the number of oocytes within oviducts), follicular development (determined by histology), hormone levels and oocyte integrity were examined. Both OCD groups showed higher body weight, but OCD28 also exhibited early vaginal opening and higher ovarian weight and glycemia at euthanasia compared with OSD. Both OCD17 and OCD28 had lower number of primordial and primary follicles, and only OCD28 exhibited lower number of antral follicles, all compared with OSD rats. In addition, both OCD17 and OCD28 had higher ovulation rate than controls, and OCD28 had lower number of healthy oocytes, which, in turn, exhibited morphological alterations such as larger perivitelline space, zona pellucida than those of control animals. Moreover, some oocytes from OCD28 were deformed and exhibited irregular membranes. Likewise, both OCD groups exhibited changes in the serum levels of hormones, including anti-Mullerian hormone. These results indicate that maternal overweight may severely affect the reproductive ability of the offspring, as a result of inducing i) early puberty, ii) high rate of follicle loss, which means less follicular reserve, iii) risk of premature ovarian aging, iv) poor oocyte quality, and v) hormonal imbalance.