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Project

Unraveling the effects of maternal metabolic stress on the uterine environment: focusing on the importance of extracellular vesicles for pre-implantation embryo development in a dairy cow model.

In humans, female infertility is an ongoing problem with an estimated prevalence of around 10%. Worldwide, obesity and overweight reached epidemic proportions and there is strong evidence for their link with infertility. The metabolic profile of obese women is commonly characterized by altered levels of blood parameter values. The latter is well reflected in the reproductive fluids and is believed to negatively affect fertility. Recent studies are shedding light on new forms of embryo–maternal communication via the delivery and/or exchange of extracellular vesicles, newly identified information carriers that exist in the uterine fluid. Animal models are valuable for basic and applied research in the field of reproductive biology especially due to ethical limitations and restricted availability of human biological material. Due to many similarities between bovine and human reproductive physiology, the cow has become a well-established and relevant model for human reproductive research. We hypothesise metabolic stress, as similarly described between obese women and lactating cow, is a key role player negatively affecting the uterine environment during early pregnancy. To proof this theory, we aim to perform novel in vivo and in vitro studies to unravel factors affecting the embryo-maternal cross talk in metabolically stressed dairy cows, focusing on the role of extracellular vesicles
Date:1 Nov 2019 →  31 Oct 2022
Keywords:OBESITY
Disciplines:Reproductive medicine, Inflammation, Veterinary immunology, Veterinary reproduction and obstetrics
Project type:Collaboration project