BackgroundMaternal obesity is associated with poor outcomes across the reproductive spectrum including infertility, increased time to pregnancy, early pregnancy loss, fetal loss, congenital abnormalities and neonatal conditions. Furthermore, the proportion of reproductive-aged woman that are obese in the population is increasing sharply. From current studies it is not clear if the origin of the reproductive complications is attributable to problems that arise in the oocyte or the uterine environment.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe examined the developmental basis of the reproductive phenotypes in obese animals by employing a high fat diet mouse model of obesity. We analyzed very early embryonic and fetal phenotypes, which can be parsed into three abnormal developmental processes that occur in obese mothers. The first is oocyte meiotic aneuploidy that then leads to early embryonic loss. The second is an abnormal process distinct from meiotic aneuploidy that also leads to early embryonic loss. The third is fetal growth retardation and brain developmental abnormalities, which based on embryo transfer experiments are not due to the obese uterine environment but instead must be from a defect that arises prior to the blastocyst stage.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that reproductive complications in obese females are, at least in part, from oocyte maternal effects. This conclusion is consistent with IVF studies where the increased pregnancy failure rate in obese women returns to the normal rate if donor oocytes are used instead of autologous oocytes. We postulate that preconceptional weight gain adversely affects pregnancy outcomes and fetal development. In light of our findings, preconceptional counseling may be indicated as the preferable, earlier target for intervention in obese women desiring pregnancy and healthy outcomes.

Objective Obese women experience worse reproductive outcomes compared to normal weight women, specifically infertility, pregnancy loss, fetal malformations and developmental delay. The objective of this study was to use a genetic mouse model of obesity in order to recapitulate the human reproductive phenotype and further examine potential mechanisms and therapies. Methods New inbred, polygenic Type 2 diabetic TallyHO mice and age matched control C57BL/6 mice were superovulated to obtain morulae or blastocysts stage embryos which were cultured in human tubal fluid media. Deoxyglucose uptake was performed on insulin-stimulated individual blastocysts. Apoptosis was detected by confocal microscopy using TUNEL assay and Topro-3 nuclear dye. Embryos were scored for %TUNEL positive/total nuclei. AMPK activation, TNFα expression, and adiponectin expression were analyzed by western immunoblot and confocal immunofluorescent microscopy. Lipid accumulation was assayed by Bodipy. Finally all measured parameters were compared between TallyHO mice in morulaes cultured to blastocyst embryos in either human tubal fluid (HTF) media or HTF with 25ug/ml metformin added. Results TallyHo mice developed whole body abnormal insulin tolerance, decreased litter number and increased NEFA. Blastocysts demonstrated increased apoptosis, decreased insulin sensitivity, and decreased activation of AMP activated protein-kinase (AMPK). As a possible cause of the insulin resistance/abnormal P-AMPK, we found that Tumor necrosis Factor (TNFα) expression and lipid accumulation as detected by BODIPY were increased in TallyHO blastocysts and adiponectin was decreased. Culturing TallyHO morulae with the AMPK activator, metformin lead to a reversal of all abnormal findings, including increased p-AMPK, improved insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and normalization of lipid accumulation. Conclusions Women with obesity and insulin resistance experience poor pregnancy outcomes. Previously we have shown in mouse models of insulin resistance that AMPK activity is decreased and that activators of AMPK reverse the poor embryo outcomes. Here, we show for the first time using a genetically altered obese model, not a diet-induced model, that metformin reverses many of the adverse effects of obesity at the level of the blastocyst. Expanding on this we determine that activation of AMPK via metformin reduces lipid droplet accumulation, presumably by eliminating the inhibitory effects of TNFα, resulting in normalization of fatty acid oxidation and HADH2 activity. Metformin exposure in vitro was able to partially reversing these effects, at the level of the blastocyst and thus may be effective in preventing the adverse effects of obesity on pregnancy and reproductive outcomes.