Chronic hyperandrogenemia and western-style diet beginning at puberty reduces fertility and increases metabolic dysfunction during pregnancy in young adult, female macaques

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONWhat are the impacts of elevated testosterone (T) and an obesogenic western-style diet (WSD), either independently or together, on fertility and metabolic adaptations of pregnancy in primates?SUMMARY ANSWERTestosterone increases the time to achieve pregnancy, while a WSD reduces overall fertility, and the combination of testosterone and WSD additionally impairs glucose tolerance and causes pregnancy loss.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYBoth hyperandrogenemia and obesity are hallmarks of polycystic ovary syndrome, which is a leading cause of infertility among women worldwide. Female macaques receiving T and WSD beginning at puberty show increased metabolic, ovarian and uterine dysfunction in the non-pregnant state by 3 years of treatment.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONThe same cohort of female rhesus macaques continued treatments from the time of puberty (2.5 years) to 4 years, including this fertility trial. There were four groups (n = 9 –10/group): controls (C), T-treated (T; average total serum level 1.35 ng/ml), WSD-treated, and combined T and WSD-treated (T + WSD) females.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSFemales, which were typically having menstrual cycles, were paired for 4 days with a proven male breeder following the late follicular rise in circulating estradiol ( ≥100 pg/ml). The presence of sperm in the reproductive tract was used to confirm mating. Animals went through up to three successive rounds of mating until they became pregnant, as confirm...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research