Female-biased sex ratios are associated with higher maternal testosterone levels in nutria (Myocastor coypus)

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Fishman ◽  
Y. Vortman ◽  
U. Shanas ◽  
L. Koren
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Myocastor Coypus ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Maternal Testosterone

scholarly journals Sex-specific associations of maternal prenatal testosterone levels with birth weight and weight gain in infancy

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 280-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Voegtline ◽  
K. A. Costigan ◽  
K. T. Kivlighan ◽  
J. L. Henderson ◽  
J. A. DiPietro
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Birth Weight ◽  
Testosterone Level ◽  
Late Pregnancy ◽  
Salivary Testosterone ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Infant Weight Gain ◽  
Postnatal Weight Gain ◽  
Maternal Testosterone ◽  
Age And Sex

Associations between maternal salivary testosterone at 36 weeks’ gestation with birth weight and infant weight gain through 6 months of age were examined in a group of 49 healthy, pregnant women and their offspring. The diurnal decline of maternal testosterone was conserved in late pregnancy, and levels showed significant day-to-day stability. Elevated maternal morning testosterone level was associated with lower birth weight Z-scores adjusted for gestational age and sex, and greater infant weight gain between birth and 6 months. Although maternal testosterone levels did not differ by fetal sex, relations were sex-specific such that maternal testosterone had a significant impact on weight for male infants; among female infants associations were nonsignificant. Results highlight the opposing influence of maternal androgens during pregnancy on decreased growth in utero and accelerated postnatal weight gain.

scholarly journals Testosterone Decreases Placental Mitochondrial Content and Cellular Bioenergetics

Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay S. Mishra ◽  
Chellakkan S. Blesson ◽  
Sathish Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Structural Damage ◽  
Plasma Testosterone ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Pregnant Rats ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Mitochondrial Copy Number ◽  
Maternal Testosterone

Placental mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Since preeclampsia is a hyperandrogenic state, we hypothesized that elevated maternal testosterone levels induce damage to placental mitochondria and decrease bioenergetic profiles. To test this hypothesis, pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with vehicle or testosterone propionate (0.5 mg/kg/day) from gestation day (GD) 15 to 19. On GD20, the placentas were isolated to assess mitochondrial structure, copy number, ATP/ADP ratio, and biogenesis (Pgc-1α and Nrf1). In addition, in vitro cultures of human trophoblasts (HTR-8/SVneo) were treated with dihydrotestosterone (0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 nM), and bioenergetic profiles using seahorse analyzer were assessed. Testosterone exposure in pregnant rats led to a 2-fold increase in plasma testosterone levels with an associated decrease in placental and fetal weights compared with controls. Elevated maternal testosterone levels induced structural damage to the placental mitochondria and decreased mitochondrial copy number. The ATP/ADP ratio was reduced with a parallel decrease in the mRNA and protein expression of Pgc-1α and Nrf1 in the placenta of testosterone-treated rats compared with controls. In cultured trophoblasts, dihydrotestosterone decreased the mitochondrial copy number and reduced PGC-1α, NRF1 mRNA, and protein levels without altering the expression of mitochondrial fission/fusion genes. Dihydrotestosterone exposure induced significant mitochondrial energy deficits with a dose-dependent decrease in basal respiration, ATP-linked respiration, maximal respiration, and spare respiratory capacity. In summary, our study suggests that the placental mitochondrial dysfunction induced by elevated maternal testosterone might be a potential mechanism linking preeclampsia to feto-placental growth restriction.

scholarly journals Anogenital distance in children born of mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome: the Odense Child Cohort

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 2061-2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorte Glintborg ◽  
Richard Christian Jensen ◽  
Anne Vibeke Schmedes ◽  
Ivan Brandslund ◽  
Henriette Boye Kyhl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Ovary Syndrome ◽  
Anogenital Distance ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Maternal Testosterone

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONAre higher testosterone levels during pregnancy in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) associated with longer offspring anogenital distance (AGD)?SUMMARY ANSWERAGD was similar in 3-month-old children born of mothers with PCOS compared to controls.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYAGD is considered a marker of prenatal androgenization.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONMaternal testosterone levels were measured by mass spectrometry at Gestational Week 28 in 1127 women. Maternal diagnosis of PCOS before pregnancy was defined according to Rotterdam criteria. Offspring measures included AGD from anus to posterior fourchette (AGDaf) and clitoris (AGDac) in girls and to scrotum (AGDas) and penis (AGDap) and penile width in boys and body composition (weight and BMI SD scores) at age 3 months.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSThe study was part of the prospective study, Odense Child Cohort (OCC), and included mothers with PCOS (n = 139) and controls (n = 1422). The control population included women with regular menstrual cycles (<35 days) before conception and no signs of androgen excess (hirsutism and/or acne).MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEAGD measures were comparable in offspring of women with PCOS compared to controls (all P > 0.2) despite significantly higher maternal levels of total testosterone (mean: 2.4 versus 2.0 nmol/l) and free testosterone (mean: 0.005 versus 0.004 nmol/l) in women with PCOS versus controls (both P < 0.001). In women with PCOS, maternal testosterone was an independent positive predictor of offspring AGDas and AGDap in boys. Maternal testosterone levels did not predict AGD in girls born of mothers with PCOS or in boys or girls born of women in the control group.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONThe diagnosis of PCOS was based on retrospective information and questionnaires during pregnancy. Women participating in OCC were more ethnically homogenous, leaner, more educated and less likely to smoke compared to the background population. Our study findings, therefore, need to be reproduced in prospective study cohorts with PCOS, in more obese study populations and in women of other ethnicities.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSOur finding of the same AGD in girls born of mothers with PCOS compared to controls expands previous results of studies reporting longer AGD in adult women with PCOS. Our results suggest that longer AGD in adult women with PCOS could be the result of increased testosterone levels in puberty, perhaps in combination with weight gain.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)Financial grants for the study were provided by the Danish Foundation for Scientific Innovation and Technology (09-067180), Ronald McDonald Children Foundation, Odense University Hospital, the Region of Southern Denmark, the Municipality of Odense, the Mental Health Service of the Region of Southern Denmark, The Danish Council for Strategic Research, Program Commission on Health, Food and Welfare (2101-08-0058), Odense Patient data Explorative Network, Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant no. NNF15OC00017734), the Danish Council for Independent Research and the Foundation for research collaboration between Rigshospitalet and Odense University Hospital and the Health Foundation (Helsefonden). There is no conflict of interest of any author that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

scholarly journals Maternal Testosterone Levels During Pregnancy Are Not associated with Birth Weights of Offspring: A Prospective Cohort Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUFENG XU ◽  
Li-Juan Sun ◽  
Mei-Ling Yang ◽  
Yun Liao ◽  
Yuan Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Medical Complications ◽  
Premature Rupture Of Membranes ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Cholestasis Of Pregnancy ◽  
Maternal Testosterone

Abstract Background Testosterone is an important sex hormone which participates in many physiological processes. However, there is conflicting evidence on effect of testosterone on fetal development. We aim to investigate the associations between maternal testosterone levels and pregnancy outcomes.Design and Methods We conducted a prospective cohort in a university-affiliated hospital. A total of 1,087 singleton pregnant women were included in the study. They were followed-up until delivery. The primary outcome was birth weight. The second outcomes were the prevalence of preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes, and low APGAR score (<7).Results We did not observe any significant association between maternal testosterone level and birth weight after adjustment. Prevalence of medical complications was also not associated with maternal testosterone levels.Conclusions Maternal testosterone levels during pregnancy is not associated with birth weights as well as the prevalence of medical complications.

scholarly journals Maternal testosterone levels during pregnancy are associated with offspring size at birth

2006 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Carlsen ◽  
G Jacobsen ◽  
P Romundstad
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Maternal Serum ◽  
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Environment And Development ◽  
Maternal Testosterone ◽  
Size At Birth ◽  
Androgen Levels

Objective: Animal studies have indicated that maternal androgen levels influence the intrauterine environment and development of the offspring. Human data are missing. We therefore investigated the possible association between maternal androgens and offspring size at birth in humans. Design: A random sample of parous Caucasian women (n = 147) was followed prospectively through pregnancy. Methods: Maternal serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), androstenedione, testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured at gestational weeks 17 and 33. The main outcome measures were weight and length at birth. Associations between maternal androgen levels and offspring birth weight and length were investigated using multiple linear regression modeling adjusted for potential confounding by maternal height, pre-pregnancy body mass index, smoking, parity, offspring gender and gestational age at birth. Results: Elevated maternal testosterone levels at week 17 and 33 were both associated with lower birth weights and lengths. Accordingly, at week 17, an increase in maternal testosterone levels from the 25th to the 75th percentile was associated with a decrease in birth weight by 160 g (95% confidence interval (CI); 29–290 g), while at week 33 that estimate was 115 g (95% CI; 21–207 g). No similar associations were observed for DHEAS, androstenedione or SHBG. Conclusions: Elevated maternal testosterone levels during human pregnancy are associated with growth restriction in utero. Our results support animal studies, which have indicated that maternal androgen levels influence intrauterine offspring environment and development.

scholarly journals Cortisol advantage of neighbouring the opposite sex in utero

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 171636 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Fishman ◽  
Y. Vortman ◽  
U. Shanas ◽  
L. Koren
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
In Utero ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Myocastor Coypus ◽  
Wildlife Species ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Hair Testing

Population sex ratios naturally fluctuate around equality. It is argued that the production of an equal number of male and female offspring by individual parents should be favoured by selection, if all costs and benefits are equal. Theoretically, an even sex ratio should yield the highest probability for a fetus to be adjacent to a fetus of the opposite sex in utero . This may cause developmental costs or benefits that have been overlooked. We examined the physiological and developmental parameters associated with in utero sex ratios in the nutria ( Myocastor coypus ), an invasive wildlife species with a strong reproductive output. Using hair testing, we found that litters with even sex ratios had the highest average cortisol levels. Fetuses neighbouring the opposite sex exhibited longer trunks than those neighbouring the same sex, which might imply better lung development. Our results are the first, to our knowledge, to link intra-utero sex ratios and fetal cortisol and suggest that fetal cortisol might be a mechanism by which even sex ratios are maintained via developmental advantages.

scholarly journals A SOCIAL COMPONENT IN THE NEGATIVE EFFECT OF SONS ON MATERNAL LONGEVITY IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL HUMANS

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
BART VAN DE PUTTE ◽  
KOEN MATTHIJS ◽  
ROBERT VLIETINCK
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Social Component ◽  
Biological Explanation ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Household Resource ◽  
Maternal Testosterone

Due to their effect on maternal testosterone levels, sons are said to have reduced maternal longevity in pre-industrial humans. This analysis, using information from a Flemish agricultural village in the 18th–20th centuries, confirms the presence of a negative effect of sons on maternal longevity. However, the effect is mainly observed for mothers belonging to the least privileged social group and for sons surviving their fifth birthday. Both findings make the above-mentioned biological explanation relative. However, a plausible alternative, social interpretation is male-dominated intra-household resource competition. It is reasonable to assume that only sons above a certain age are able to claim a serious amount of resources and that competition is strongest within the least privileged social group.

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