Reproductive and Urinary Physiology Commons^™

Free Fatty Acid Treatment Alters Autophagy During Mouse Preimplantation Embryo Development, Zuleika C. L. Leung

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Obesity-induced hyperlipidemia is one of the main factors for female infertility. Hyperlipidemia, specifically with high levels of palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA), interferes with preimplantation development. Autophagy is essential in early embryo development but, it is unknown whether hyperlipidemia affects autophagic mechanisms in preimplantation embryos. It was hypothesized that PA will alter autophagy in preimplantation mouse embryos and that the subsequent effects will be reversed by OA. PA impaired blastocyst development by arresting embryos at the 8-cell stage. PA also elevated early embryo autophagy by increasing autophagosome formation, decreasing maturation, and disrupting degradation. Co-treatment with OA showed developmental …

Update - January 2007, Loma Linda University Center For Christian Bioethics

Update

In this issue:

-- Stem Cells, Embryos, and Ethics: Is There a Way Forward?
-- Editorial
-- 2006 Contributor's Convocation "Present Day Health Care: Collaborate or Close the Door"