High fat diet feeding and its adverse effects on female mice reproduction

VELAZQUEZ CANDELA; NOELIA CARNOVALE; MARIELA BILOTAS; MARINONI ROCIO; HERRERO, YAMILA; GONZALO OUBIÑA; MERESMAN GABRIELA; FERNANDA PARBORELL; ABRAMOVICH, DALHIA

Congreso; REUNIÓN ANUAL DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIAS; 2021

Fertility depends on a correct energy balance. Metabolic disturbances due to western dietsin women of reproductive age lead to menstrual dysfunction, subfertility and pregnancycomplications. However, it is not clear how high fat diets (HFD) affect reproductivefunction.Hypothesis: HFD causes metabolic and reproductive alterations in female mice. Metforminimproves these effects.Objective: To analyze the effects of HFD and metformin on metabolism and reproductivefunction in female mice.Methodology: 21d.o. female C57BL/6 mice were fed with HFD or control diet for 16weeks. One HFD group received metformin the last four weeks. Mice were weighed once aweek. Serum, gonadal and visceral fat and the ovaries were extracted. Estrus cycle,glycemia and ovarian angiogenesis were evaluated. Another set of animals were mated withmales. Offspring number, weight and the time until pregnancy were recorded. One-wayANOVA was used.Results: The HFD-mice had higher body weight, glycemia, GTT, total cholesterol, visceraland gonadal adipose tissue. Metformin improved GTT and decreased adipose tissues. Theestrus cycle was shorter in HFD mice and the number of cycles/14d was increased in theHFD group. However, anovulatory stages were longer in HFD mice. Metformin had noeffect on estrous cycle. The days until pregnancy were higher in HFD group and metforminreversed this effect. We found less pups per litter but no differences in pups’weight.However, total litter weight was lower in HFD group. Metformin improved this parameter.Ovarian periendothelial area was increased in HFD and PDGFB was decreased. Metformindecreased periendothelial area with no effect on PDGFB.Conclusion: HFD affects metabolism, ovarian function, estrous cycle and the litter size.Metformin improves some of these alterations. HFD also increases the time to pregnancyand metformin reverses this delay. Changes in ovarian vasculature and PDGFB may besome of the possible causes of the observed alterations.