Oleic Acid Counters Impaired Blastocyst Development Induced by Palmitic Acid During Mouse Preimplantation Development: Understanding Obesity-Related Declines in Fertility.

Obesity is associated with altered fatty acid profiles, reduced fertility, and assisted reproductive technology (ART) success. The effects of palmitic acid (PA), oleic acid (OA), and their combination on mouse preimplantation development, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway gene expression, lipid droplet formation, and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) were characterized. Two-cell stage mouse embryos collected from superovulated and mated CD1 females were placed into culture with KSOMaa medium, or PA alone or in combination with OA for 46 h.

CD-1 mouse fertility rapidly declines and is accompanied with early pregnancy loss under conventional housing conditions.

CD-1 mice are commonly employed as a research model for defining mechanisms controlling early mammalian development and for understanding environmental impacts on mammalian fertility. CD-1 female mice were kept four to eight months under conventional animal care housing, and were fed ad libitum with normal laboratory mouse chow. Female weight, mating success, oocyte morphology, blastocyst development in vivo and in vitro, and RT-qPCR analysis of trophectoderm cell markers (Cdx2, Slc2a1, and Atp1a1 transcript abundance, and CDX2 localization) were assessed and contrasted with outcomes from four-week-old control CD-1 mice.