Hall, L. G. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2025

Lowering insulin mitigates female reproductive aging and diet-induced ovarian dysfunction

Hyperinsulinemia has consequences beyond metabolic dysfunction, including reproductive system effects. We found that hyperinsulinemia at age 46-47 was predictive of earlier menopause in the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation. To test causality between insulin levels and reproductive aging, we longitudinally evaluated chow- or high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS)-fed Ins1-null female mice with full or partial Ins2 insulin gene expression. Ins1-/-;Ins2+/-mice had lower HFHS-induced hyperinsulinemia and less weight gain than their full-Ins2 littermates, despite comparable HFHS-induced glucose intolerance up to 9 months. By 15 months, Ins1-/-;Ins2+/+ ovaries showed multinucleated giant cell accumulation with HFHS, while Ins1-/-;Ins2+/- mice were protected against this response and maintained a higher reserve of follicles. Moreover, aged Ins1-/-;Ins2+/- mice were 9-fold more likely to conceive on HFHS than hyperinsulinemic Ins1-/-;Ins2+/+ mice. Elevated insulin is therefore a critical mechanistic link between metabolic dysfunction and reproductive aging, and curtailing insulin levels protects against subfertility and HFHS-induced ovarian decline.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Amyloid beta 42 alters cardiac metabolism and impairs cardiac function in obesity

There are epidemiological associations between obesity and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimers disease. While some common aetiological mechanisms are known, the role of amyloid beta 42 (A{beta}42) in these diverse chronic diseases is obscure. Here we show that adipose tissue releases A{beta}42, which is increased from adipose tissue of obese mice and is associated with higher plasma A{beta}42. Increasing circulating A{beta}42 levels in non-obese mice had no effect on systemic glucose homeostasis but had obesity-like effects on the heart, including reduced cardiac glucose clearance and impaired cardiac function. These effects on cardiac function were not observed when circulating levels of the closely related A{beta}40 isoform were increased. Administration of an A{beta} neutralising antibody prevented obesity-induced cardiac dysfunction and hypertrophy. Furthermore, A{beta} neutralising antibody administration in established obesity prevented further deterioration of cardiac function. Multi-contrast transcriptomic analyses revealed that A{beta}42 impacted pathways of mitochondrial metabolism and exposure of cardiomyocytes to A{beta}42 inhibited mitochondrial function. These data reveal a role for systemic A{beta}42 in the development of cardiac disease in obesity and suggest that therapeutics designed for Alzheimers disease could be effective in combating obesity-induced heart failure.

physiology↗