Degree Type


Date of Award


Degree Name

Master of Science


Animal Science



First Advisor

Aileen F. Keating


Mammalian reproduction is highly dependent on the ovary. Ovarian health is crucial for the health of the female and the offspring. Observations of the timing of puberty and ovarian function reveal a major role for the metabolic status of the female on reproductive function. Many metabolic signals such as leptin, insulin, and LPS influence ovarian function as they participate in metabolic stress. All of these signals cross pathways at PI3K. Obesity, the accumulation of excessive fat, is an international health concern of wide prevalence. It causes an increase in circulating leptin, insulin, and LPS, and is associated with numerous reproductive disorders. Here, we investigated the effects of increasing systemic leptin during gestation on the offspring, and observed that gestational hyperleptinemia can alter the ovarian capacity to metabolize toxicants later in the offspring's life. Heat stress is a condition of increased core temperature, and it impedes the reproductive performance of production animals during summer, making it an increased threat to food security, climate change only worsening it. Heat stress causes increased circulating insulin and LPS. We heat stressed gilts cyclically after synchronizing their estrous cycles, and observed decreased phosphorylation of AKT and increased TLR4 abundance in their ovaries. This demonstrates that, during heat stress, ovarian TLR4 signaling is upregulated and that the ovary might be initiating a stress response as indicated by reduced AKT phosphorylation


Copyright Owner

Ahmad Abdulrahman Al-Shaibi



File Format


File Size

144 pages