Suppressive Role of Lactoferrin in Overweight-Related Female Fertility Problems

Abstract

The secretory glycoprotein lactoferrin (LF) is suggested to ameliorate overweight regardless of non-genetic or genetic mechanisms. Although maternal overweight represents a key predictor of offspring growth, the efficacy of LF on fertility problems in overweight and obese mothers remains unknown. To address this issue, we examined the effect of LF ingestion by analyzing overweight mice (Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice with high-fat diets; HF mice) and obese mice (leptin-deficient mice with type II diabetes; ob/ob mice). Plasma insulin, leptin, glucose, and cholesterol levels were measured, and thermal imaging and histological analysis were employed. The litter size of HF females was reduced due to miscarriage, which was reversed by LF ingestion. In addition, LF ingestion suppressed overweight prevalence in their offspring. The component analysis of the maternal blood demonstrated that glucose concentration in both HF females and their offspring was normalized by LF ingestion, which further standardized the concentration of insulin, but not leptin. LF ingestion was unable to reverse female infertility in ob/ob mice, although their obesity and uterine function were partially improved. Our results indicate that LF upregulates female fertility by reinforcing ovarian and uterine functions in females that are overweight due to caloric surplus.

Featured Prebiotic Agent: The Roles and Mechanisms of Direct and Indirect Prebiotic Activities of Lactoferrin and Its Application in Disease Control

“…This study has demonstrated that the selected LF and LF receptor-related gene variants may be associated with the prevalence of metabolically healthy or metabolically unhealthy obesity [ 73 ]. Sato et al had investigated the efficacy of LF on fertility problems in overweight and obese mothers, and this study demonstrated that LF ingestion can improve fertility in overweight/obese females and suppress the health problems of their offspring [ 74 ]. However, dietary LF has been found to cause significant weight and fat loss, mostly under calorie-restricted conditions [ 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ].…”