Genomic modulation of diabetes (db/db) and obese (ob/ob) mutation-induced hypercytolipidemia: cytochemical basis of female reproductive tract involution.

Infertility and hypercytolipidemic utero-ovarian involution are recognized consequences of the diabetes-obesity syndrome (DOS) in C57BL mice with either obese (ob/ob) or diabetes (db/db) single gene mutations. We have evaluated the interdependent deleterious influences of both mutation types and differences in the genomic background on utero-ovarian dysfunction in C57BL mice. Control ( +/?) C57BL mice were matched with littermate ob/ob and db/db mutants expressed on either the /KsJ or /6 background. Both ob/ob and db/db mutations increased body weights of /KsJ and /6 background strains relative to +/? groups. In contrast, uterine and ovarian weights were depressed by ob/ob and db/db mutations relative to +/?, regardless of the background strain, but especially when expressed on the /KsJ background. Functionally, both ob/ob and db/db mutations induced hyperglycemic-hyperinsulinemic states coupled with depressed serum estradiol-17-beta and progesterone concentrations when expressed on a /KsJ background. Microscopic analysis of utero-ovarian tissue samples revealed marked hypercytolipidemia in the follicular granulosa and endometrial epithelial tissue layers of both ob/ob and db/db mutant groups relative to normal +/? cytoarchitecture. The db/db mutation consistently promoted more severe hypercytolipidemic profiles than the ob/ob mutation, regardless of background strain. Thus, the severity of utero-ovarian hypercytolipidemia following the expression of ob/ob and db/db mutations in C57BL mice is influenced, or moderated, by the genomic background on which the mutation is expressed.