Superovulation Induced Changes of Lipid Metabolism in Ovaries and Embryos and Its Probable Mechanism

PLoS One. 2015 Jul 13;10(7):e0132638. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132638. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

This research was intended to investigate the fetal origins of changed birth weight of the offspring born through assisted reproductive technology (ART). The association between hormone and lipid metabolism or body weight has been generally accepted, and as the basic and specific treatment in ART procedure, gonadotropin stimulation might have potential effects on intrauterine lipid metabolism. In our studies, the mice were superovulated with two doses of gonadotropin. The cholesterol metabolism in ovaries and the triglyceride metabolism in embryos were analyzed. The results showed gonadotropin probably accelerated luteinization and induced a longer time follicle development and ovulation, which resulted in histological and morphological alteration of ovary, and increased the cholesterol content and the expressions of steroidogenesis-related genes. In embryos, gonadotropin increased lipid accumulation and decreased fatty acid synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the changes of fatty acid composition were also shown in superovulation groups. Our studies firstly provided the evidence that the superovulation might affect the maternal and fetal lipid metabolism. These variations of lipid metabolism in our results may be associated with birth weight of ART infants.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Embryo, Mammalian / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Gonadotropins / physiology
  • Lipid Metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Ovary / metabolism*
  • Progesterone / blood
  • Superovulation*

Substances

  • Gonadotropins
  • Progesterone

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (grant numbers 2014CB943302 and 2012CB944901), the National Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 81370760 and 81300532), and the Zhejiang Province Natural Science Foundation Projects of China (grant number LZ13H040001). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.