Chronically elevated androgen and/or consumption of a Western-style diet impairs oocyte quality and granulosa cell function in the nonhuman primate periovulatory follicle

Purpose To investigate the impact of chronically elevated androgens in the presence and absence of an obesogenic diet on oocyte quality in the naturally selected primate periovulatory follicle. Methods Rhesus macaques were treated using a 2-by-2 factorial design (n = 10/treatment) near the onset of menarche with implants containing either cholesterol (C) or testosterone (T, 4–5-fold increase above C) and a standard or “Western-style” diet alone (WSD) or in combination (T+WSD). Following ~ 3.5 years of treatment, females underwent controlled ovulation (COv, n = 7–10/treatment) cycles, and contents of the naturally selected periovulatory follicle were aspirated. Follicular fluid (FF) was analyzed for cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and steroids. RNA was extracted from luteinizing granulosa cells (LGCs) and assessed by RNA-seq. Results Only healthy, metaphase (M) I/II-stage oocytes (100%) were retrieved in the C group, whereas several degenerated oocytes were recovered in other groups (33–43% of T, WSD, and T+WSD samples). Levels of two chemokines and one growth factor were reduced (p