This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. A dramatic increase in childhood obesity and diabetes is currently evident. While mainly attributed to calorically dense diets and a lack of activity, another contributing factor is maternal health and diet during pregnancy and the early neonatal period. Both intrauterine and neonatal environments contribute to metabolic abnormalities in offspring of rodents and sheep. Children born to diabetic women have abnormal adiposity, are insulin resistant, and have increased risk of developing early onset obesity. While numerous reports detail detrimental effects on reproductive function in offspring of mothers fed calorie-restricted diets during pregnancy, the direct impact of maternal obesity on reproductive function of female offspring is rarely studied. Obese adolescent girls are at increased risk for developing polycystic ovarian syndrome, a common form of infertility. There are no controlled studies in women and their female children relating the mother's diet during pregnancy to the child's propensity for reproductive anomalies either prior to or at puberty. There are also no ovarian specimens to examine from children due to ethical considerations. We preserved ovaries from adult female macaques fed control, or high fat diets, as well as female fetuses (gestational day 130) and female juvenile macaques derived from mothers fed control or high fat diets during pregnancy. Ovarian morphology and immunocytochemical markers of proliferation, apoptosis, vascularity, inflammation and oocyte integrity are being analyzed. These studies will determine the impact of maternal high fat diet on ovarian function of offspring in primates, and whether effects can be observed during fetal development and/or prior to puberty.
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