Daniela Fernandois

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at French Institute of Health and Medical Research

The link between metabolism and reproduction is well-known. Both undernutrition and obesity affect the reproductive system. Metabolic status influences reproductive physiology by regulating gonadotropin secretion and affecting reproductive organs through hormonal signals. On the other hand, the autonomic nervous system controls follicle development...

While hypothalamic kisspeptin (KP) neurons play well-established roles in the estrogen-dependent regulation of reproduction, little is known about extrahypothalamic KP-producing (KP LS ) neurons of the lateral septum. As established previously, Kiss1 expression in this region is low and regulated by estrogen receptor- and GABA B receptor-dependent...

Autonomic innervation is important to regulate homeostasis in every organ of the body. The sympathetic nervous system controls several organs associated with metabolism and reproduction, including adipose tissue, the liver, and the ovaries. The sympathetic nervous system is controlled within the central nervous system by neurons located in the hypo...

Background We have recently demonstrated a causal link between loss of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the master molecule regulating reproduction, and cognitive deficits during pathological aging, including Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Olfactory and cognitive alterations, which persist in some COVID-19 patients, and long-term hypo...

COVID-19 is a complex disease with short- and long-term respiratory, inflammatory and neurological symptoms that are triggered by the infection with SARS-CoV-2. Invasion of the brain by SARS-CoV-2 has been observed in humans and is postulated to be involved in post-COVID state. Brain infection is particularly pronounced in the K18-hACE2 mouse model...

Liraglutide, an anti-diabetic drug and agonist of the glucagon-like peptide one receptor (GLP1R), has recently been approved to treat obesity in individuals with or without type 2 diabetes. Despite its extensive metabolic benefits, the mechanism and site of action of liraglutide remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that liraglutide is shuttled to t...

COVID-19 is a complex disease with short- and long-term respiratory, inflammatory and neurological symptoms that are triggered by the infection with SARS-CoV-2. Invasion of the brain by SARS-CoV-2 has been observed in humans and is postulated to be involved in post COVID condition. Brain infection is particularly pronounced in the K18-hACE2 mouse m...

Neuroinvasion by SARS-CoV-2 is now accepted. To investigate whether low testosterone levels observed in men with severe COVID-19 could be of central origin, we retrospectively analyzed blood samples from 60 male intensive-care patients and explored SARS-CoV-2 brain entry using animal and cellular models as well as adult COVID-19 patient and fetal h...

Metabolic health depends on the brain’s ability to control food intake and nutrient use versus storage, processes that require peripheral signals such as the adipocyte-derived hormone, leptin, to cross brain barriers and mobilize regulatory circuits. We have previously shown that hypothalamic tanycytes shuttle leptin into the brain to reach target...

Hypothalamic glucose sensing enables an organism to match energy expenditure and food intake to circulating levels of glucose, the main energy source of the brain. Here, we established that tanycytes of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, specialized glia that line the wall of the third ventricle, convert brain glucose supplies into lactate that they...

Bile acids (BAs) improve metabolism and exert anti-obesity effects through the activation of the Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) in peripheral tissues. TGR5 is also found in the brain hypothalamus, but whether hypothalamic BA signaling is implicated in body weight control and obesity pathophysiology remains unknown. Here we show that hyp...

With the worldwide increase in overnutrition rates, maternal obesity during pregnancy has also increased. This condition is related to increasing incidence of pregnancy and delivery complications, and it is associated to long-term vulnerability of the offspring to suffer metabolic impairments. In addition, nutrition of the newborn through maternal...

Childhood obesity, especially in girls, is frequently bound to earlier puberty, which is linked to higher disease burden later in life. The mechanisms underlying this association remain elusive. Here we show that brain ce-ramides participate in the control of female puberty and contribute to its alteration in early-onset obesity in rats. Postnatal...

Most patients with COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), display neurological symptoms, and respiratory failure in certain cases could be of extra-pulmonary origin. With reports detecting SARS-CoV-2 in some post-mortem patient brains, the routes, targets and consequences of brain infection merit investiga...

Maternal obesity causes a wide range of impairments in offspring, such as metabolic and reproductive dysfunctions. We previously demonstrated that female offspring of obese rats have increased serum estradiol levels during early postnatal life, probably because of decreased hepatic cytochrome P450 3A2 levels, which could lead to early onset of pube...

Obesity and its comorbidities are reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. Maternal obesity is known to predispose the offspring to metabolic disorders, independently of genetic inheritance. This intergenerational transmission has also been suggested for paternal obesity, with a potential negative impact on the metabolic and, eventually, reproducti...

Recently, the influence of adrenergic activity over ovarian function, and thus fertility, has begun to gain importance. Previous studies have shown that adrenergic activity through norepinephrine (NE) participates in the control of follicular development and steroidal secretion from the ovary, among other functions. To examine this phenomenon, the...

Successful reproduction is the result of a myriad interactions in which the ovary and the ovarian follicular reserve play a fundamental role. At present, women who delay maternity until after 30 years of age have a decreased fertility rate due to various causes, including damaged follicles and a reduction in the reserve pool of follicles. Therefore...

Previous work has demonstrated that the increase in the activity of sympathetic nerves, which occurs during the subfertility period in female rats, causes an increase in follicular cyst development and impairs follicular development. In addition, the increase in ovarian sympathetic activity of aged rats correlates with an increased expression of ki...

Scientific Reports 6 : Article number: 29073 10.1038/srep29073 ; published online: 01 July 2016 ; updated: 19 August 2016 . The original version of this Article contained a typographical error in the spelling of the author Daniela Fernandois, which was incorrectly given as Daniela Fernadois.

Maternal obesity during pregnancy has been related with several pathological states in offspring. However, the impact of maternal obesity on reproductive system on the progeny is beginning to be elucidated. In this work, we characterize the effect of maternal obesity on puberty onset and follicular development in adult offspring in rats. We also pr...

Obesity epidemic is one of the major concerns in the world. Worryingly, a high percentage of pregnant women have obesity, which could imply several consequences. Maternal obesity leads to different abnormalities in pregnancy and delivery. In addition, recent studies show that the offspring of obese mothers has an increased probability to suffer car...

We have previously reported that kisspeptin (KP) may be under the control of the sympathetic innervation of the ovary. Considering that the sympathetic activity of the ovary increases with ageing, it is possible that ovarian KP also increases during this period and participates in follicular development. To evaluate this possibility, we determined...

Obesity during gestation has been related to predisposition to endocrine and metabolic diseases in the offspring. Regarding reproductive effects, an increase in BMI in pregnant mothers is associated with precocious puberty in their offspring. This has been replicated in animal models of high fat diet (HFD) administration to mothers. Also, gestation...

As aging proceeds, fertility problems arise, and the success rate of in vitro fertilization declines. During reproductive aging, rat ovaries present spontaneous formation of cysts, followed by a concomitant increase in sympathetic nerve activity, causing infertility and cessation of ovarian function. β2-Adrenergic receptors, which are activated by...

At present and derived from social and external factors, woman has postponed childbearing after 30 years age. The delay of motherhood into the window of subfertility, results in decreased fertility and unsuccessful in vitro fertilization programs. Then, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of follicular development in this period. The ovary...

Depletion of ovarian follicles is associated with the end of reproductive function in ageing females. Recently, it has been described that this process parallels increases in the concentration of norepinephrine (NE) in the rat ovary. In sexually mature rats, experimentally-induced increases in the sympathetic tone of the ovary is causally related t...