Impact of maternal overnutrition on the periconceptional period

Publication date: Available online 29 May 2015 Source:Endocrinología y Nutrición (English Edition) Author(s): Miguel Abraham Velázquez Overnutrition may lead to obesity. Maternal obesity may affect fertility not only via anovulation, but also through direct effects on oocytes and preimplantation embryos, indicating that the periconceptional period is sensitive to conditions of overnutrition. The periconceptional period includes from folliculogenesis to implantation. Animal model studies suggest that oocytes derived from obese females usually have a small size and mitochondrial abnormalities. These disruptions are probably induced by changes in the components of the ovarian follicular fluid. Experimental evidence also suggests that obesity may affect the microenvironment in oviducts and uterus, resulting in development of preimplantation embryos with reduced cell numbers and upregulation of proinflammatory genes. However, further research is needed for in-depth characterization of the effects of maternal obesity during the periconceptional period.
Source: Endocrinologia y Nutricion - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research