Background: Conditions of excess androgen in women, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), often exhibit intergenerational transmission. One way in which the risk for PCOS may be increased in daughters of affected women is through exposure to elevated androgens in utero. Hyperandrogenemic conditions have serious health consequences, including increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Recently, gut dysbiosis has been found to induce hypertension in rats, such that blood pressure can be normalized through fecal microbial transplant. Therefore, we hypothesized that the hypertension seen in PCOS has early origins in gut dysbiosis caused by in utero exposure to excess androgen. We investigated this hypothesis with a model of prenatal androgen (PNA) exposure and maternal hyperandrogenemia by single-injection of testosterone cypionate or sesame oil vehicle (VEH) to pregnant dams in late gestation. We then completed a gut microbiota and cardiometabolic profile of the adult female offspring.
Results: The metabolic assessment revealed that adult PNA rats had increased body weight and increased mRNA expression of adipokines: adipocyte binding protein 2, adiponectin, and leptin in inguinal white adipose tissue. Radiotelemetry analysis revealed hypertension with decreased heart rate in PNA animals. The fecal microbiota profile of PNA animals contained higher relative abundance of bacteria associated with steroid hormone synthesis, Nocardiaceae and Clostridiaceae, and lower abundance of Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Clostridium. The PNA animals also had an increased relative abundance of bacteria associated with biosynthesis and elongation of unsaturated short chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
Conclusions: We found that prenatal exposure to excess androgen negatively impacted cardiovascular function by increasing systolic and diastolic blood pressure and decreasing heart rate. Prenatal androgen was also associated with gut microbial dysbiosis and altered abundance of bacteria involved in metabolite production of short chain fatty acids. These results suggest that early-life exposure to hyperandrogenemia in daughters of women with PCOS may lead to long-term alterations in gut microbiota and cardiometabolic function.
Our findings warrant a detailed assessment of metabolic comorbidities including NAFLD in patients with a primary diagnosis of psoriasis. Lifestyle modifications, including weight loss and smoking cessation, may be necessary for patients with psoriasis to decrease the risk and severity of NAFLD.
These data indicated that L-carnitine supplementation during IVM of immature BCB+ oocytes improved preimplantation developmental competence of oocytes after IVF, probably by accelerating cytoplasmic and nuclear maturation of oocytes. It may provide a novel approach to improving ART outcomes in infertile couples.
The combination of bioceramics and stem cells has attracted the interest of research community for bone tissue engineering applications. In the present study, a combination of Bio-Oss(®) and type 1 collagen gel as scaffold were loaded with human adipose-tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) after isolation and characterization, and the capacity of them for bone regeneration was investigated in rat critical size defects using digital mammography, multi-slice spiral computed tomography imaging and histological analysis. 8 weeks after implantation, no mortality or sign of inflammation was observed in the site of defect. According to the results of imaging analysis, a higher level of bone regeneration was observed in the rats receiving Bio-Oss(®)-Gel compared to untreated group. In addition, MSC-seeded Bio-Oss-Gel induced the highest bone reconstruction among all groups. Histological staining confirmed these findings and impressive osseointegration was observed in MSC-seeded Bio-Oss-Gel compared with Bio-Oss-Gel. On the whole, it was demonstrated that combination of AT-MSCs, Bio-Oss and Gel synergistically enhanced bone regeneration and reconstruction and also could serve as an appropriate structure to bone regenerative medicine and tissue engineering application.
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