Besides the effects on peripheral energy homeostasis, insulin also has an important role in ovarian function. Obesity has a negative effect on fertility, and may play a role in the development of the polycystic ovary syndrome in susceptible women. Since insulin resistance in the ovary could contribute to the impairment of reproductive function in obese women, we evaluated insulin signaling in the ovary of high-fat diet-induced obese rats. Female Wistar rats were submitted to a high-fat diet for 120 or 180 days, and the insulin signaling pathway in the ovary was evaluated by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. At the end of the diet period, we observed insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, an increase in progesterone serum levels, an extended estrus cycle, and altered ovarian morphology in obese female rats. Moreover, in female obese rats treated for 120 days with the high-fat diet, the increase in progesterone levels occurred together with enhancement of LH levels. The ovary from high-fat-fed female rats showed a reduction in the insulin receptor substrate/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT intracellular pathway, associated with an increase in FOXO3a, IL1B, and TNFa protein expression. These changes in the insulin signaling pathway may have a role in the infertile state associated with obesity.
Objective: Identify the potential for and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 vertical transmission.Methods: Symptomatic pregnant women with COVID-19 diagnosis in whom PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was performed at delivery using maternal serum and at least one of the biological samples: cord blood (CB), amniotic fluid (AF), colostrum and/or oropharyngeal swab (OPS) of the neonate. The association of parameters with maternal, AF and/or CB positivity and the influence of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in AF and/or CB on neonatal outcomes were investigated.Results: Overall 73.4% (80/109) were admitted in hospital due to COVID-19, 22.9% needed intensive care and there were four maternal deaths. Positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was observed in 14.7% of maternal blood, 13.9% of AF, 6.7% of CB, 2.1% of colostrum and 3.7% of OPS samples. The interval between
Although angiogenic imbalance is clearly related to preeclampsia, it seems to play a more modest role in superimposed preeclampsia, in which other mechanisms should also be investigated.
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