The impact of obesity on egg quality

Abstract

Obesity in women is a concern in many countries. This causes numerous health issues; however, this review focuses on the impact of obesity on women's reproduction, and in particular the oocyte. Data from infertility clinics and experimental animal models that address the effects of obesity are presented. Bidirectional communication and metabolic support from the surrounding cumulus cells are critical for oocyte development, and the impact of obesity on these cells is also addressed. Both oocyte maturation and metabolism are impaired due to obesity, negatively impacting further development. In addition to reproductive hormones, obesity induced elevations in insulin, glucose, or free fatty acids, and changes in adipokines appear to impact the developmental competence of the oocyte. The data indicate that any one of these hormones or metabolites can impair oocyte developmental competence in vivo, and the combination of all of these factors and their interactions are the subject of ongoing investigations.

Improved Efficiency of Microsurgical Enucleated Tripronuclear Zygotes Development and Embryonic Stem Cell Derivation by Supplementing Epidermal Growth Factor, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1

“…PI3-K is a regulator of several physiological responses, including cellular proliferation, growth, survival, and glucose metabolism, and is vital for preimplantation embryo survival and development [51,52]. Consistent with our results, some reports have shown that inhibition of PI3-K induces apoptosis in blastocysts [53,54]. The other role of the PI3-K pathway is to regulate glucose uptake mainly via the translocation of glucose transporter proteins to the plasma membrane.…”

Increased body mass index negatively impacts blastocyst formation rate in normal responders undergoing in vitro fertilization

“…Animal studies have indicated that obesity significantly impacts oocyte quality [22][23][24][25]. Researchers have used a murine model of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to mimic the effects of obesity and metabolic dysfunction in humans.…”

Female offspring sired by diet induced obese male mice display impaired blastocyst development with molecular alterations to their ovaries, oocytes and cumulus cells

“…Our results show that Glut1, Glut3 and Glut4 have increased ovarian expression in daughters of HFD fed fathers, indicating a potential increase in glucose transport in ovarian cells. This may impair oocyte quality as previous studies demonstrate high glucose environments (e.g., diabetic mouse models) impair oocyte quality and development, presumably by altering the glucose levels in the follicular environment [47][48][49]. Moreover, elevated concentrations of glucose in the uterus are associated with poor oocyte developmental competence in vitro [50].…”