Obesity and androgen excess in women; Adiponectin as a new treatment for metabolic, reproductive and mood disorders

Obese women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) display high circulating androgen and low adiponectin levels during pregnancy, which affect the fetus and may increase the risk of mood disorders.

Adiponectin acts on the placenta during pregnancy and this fact allows for the interesting possibility that adiponectin can exert endocrine effects on the developing fetus and protect against the effects of obesity and androgen exposure.Therefore, we will test the hypothesis that high adiponectin levels improve maternal metabolism and placenta function in obese dams, and thereby protects against fetal overgrowth by preventing excess nutrient and androgen transport to the fetus.

This will in turn prevent the development of metabolic, reproductive and behavioral alterations in the offspring.

The translational relevance will be investigated by correlating protein expression of placental nutrient transporters in this mouse model to placentas from lean and obese women. Second, we will test if adiponectin can be used as a biomarker for mental illness in obese women with and without PCOS. Finally, we test the hypothesis that adiponectin can prevent mental illness.

An adiponectin transgenic mouse model exposed for maternal obesity and androgens in utero will be used to study the effect and mechanism of action.Our long-term goal is to identify an adiponectin-based therapy that reduces the need of SSRI and insulin sensitizing drugs in obese women with and without PCOS.