Article Summary: NMN Improves Oocyte Quality and Reproductive Performance in Obese Mice
Introduction: Obesity is a global health issue that can negatively impact reproductive outcomes in women. Chronic inflammation caused by obesity affects ovarian physiology and impairs reproductive health. Maternal obesity's adverse effects on oocytes and preimplantation embryos may result in long-term metabolic diseases in offspring. Low-quality oocytes are the main reason for poor reproductive outcomes in obese women.
Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) and Oocyte Quality:
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a cofactor involved in various biological processes. The level of NAD+ decreases with age and metabolic abnormalities like obesity and diabetes. Loss of NAD+ decreases oocyte quality and hinders embryonic development in obese mice. NMN, a precursor of NAD+, can enhance NAD+ biosynthesis and reverse defects caused by insufficient NAD+. NMN supplementation has been shown to improve oocyte quality and restore NAD+ levels in aging mice and those with type 2 diabetes induced by a high-fat diet.
Study Objective and Findings:
A study investigated the effect of NMN on oocyte quality and reproductive performance in obese mice. The study used an obese mouse model established by feeding mice a high-fat diet. NMN was administered to the obese mice, and its effects on ovarian weight, adipose tissue size, ovarian inflammation, oocyte quality, and offspring were examined.
The findings showed that NMN administration restored ovarian weight and reduced the size of abdominal fat tissue and ovarian inflammation in high-fat diet mice. NMN treatment improved oocyte quality by restoring mitochondrial function and actin dynamics, reducing meiotic defects, DNA damage, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and improving lipid droplet distribution in oocytes. Additionally, NMN administration restored the birth weight of offspring in high-fat diet mice.
Conclusion:
Based on the findings, NMN supplementation can improve the oocyte quality and reproductive performance of obese mice. NMN administration reduces ovarian inflammation, improves mitochondrial function, and enhances oocyte quality. The restoration of offspring's birth weight suggests a long-term effect of NMN. These results provide a theoretical reference for improving reproductive outcomes in obese individuals.
Conflict of Interest: The authors of the study have declared that they have no conflict of interest, ensuring transparency and credibility in their work.
Supporting Information: The supporting information includes a table with raw Ct values of quantitative real-time PCR, which provides more detailed information related to the gene expression analysis conducted in the study.
Overall, this study suggests that NMN supplementation could be a promising intervention to improve oocyte quality and reproductive outcomes in obese individuals. Further research is needed to explore its potential implications in human reproductive health.
Title of paper: Administration of nicotinamide mononucleotide improves oocyte quality of obese mice
Author(s): Wang L, Chen Y, Wei J, Guo F, Li L, Han Z, Wang Z, Zhu H, Zhang X, Li Z, Dai X.
Year published: 2022
Published in: Cell Prolif
Original article can be found here.
