Open Access

ARTICLE

Intrauterine high androgen promotes obesity of the offspring of rats with polycystic ovarian syndrome via activating macrophage-angiogenesis-related androgen signaling

MIN CHEN^1,#, YUAN HUANG^2,#, WEN XU², CHUNLIN SU^2,*

1 Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200232, China
2 The Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 200232, China

* Address correspondence to: Chunlin Su,
# These authors contributed equally to this work

BIOCELL 2022, 46(6), 1505-1519. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.016564

Received 23 March 2021; Accepted 02 June 2021; Issue published 07 February 2022

Abstract

The development of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is closely related to the chronic inflammatory and obese. Recent studies have found macrophages regulate the chronic inflammation and adipose tissue remodelling, but the underlying mechanisms have not been clarified. In this study, we established a model of PCOS in the offspring rats by high androgen exposure during late pregnancy in parental and established a female rat macrophage eliminating model by rejection of clodronate liposome. Then, the offspring rat macrophage phenotype in offspring female rat adipose tissue, and levels of testosterone, angiogenic factors (PDGF and VEGF) and inflammatory factors (TNF-α and MCP-1) were investigated. By coculture of RAW264.7 macrophage with adipocytes or C166 endothelial cells (ECs), the mobility of adipocytes, and the ECs function with associated signalling pathway were detected by using of androgen inhibitor Apalutamide, NF-κB inhibitor JSH-23 and ERK1/2 inhibitor LY3214996. It was found that high androgen exposure during late pregnancy led to increased testosterone levels and overweight and obesity, increased size and reduced number of subcutaneous and intra-abdominal adipocytes, and increased secretion of TNF-α and MCP-1 in female rats in the offspring. Eliminating macrophages significantly increased adipocytes and angiogenesis in offspring of rats with intrauterine high androgen, and reduced TNF-α and MCP-1. Macrophages promoted mobility of adipocytes, and inhibited proliferation, migration, tube formation of ECs under hyperandrogenic condition, which were significantly inhibited by Apalutamide, JSH-23 and LY3214996. Thus, intrauterine high androgen promotes obesity of the offspring of rats with polycystic ovarian syndrome through increasing M1 differentiation of pro-inflammatory macrophages and activating VEGF-related angiogenesis via androgen/NF-κB/ERK1/2 signalling pathway.

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Keywords

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