Abstract
In female, inadequate iron supply is a highly prevalent problem that often leads to iron-deficiency anemia. This study aimed to understand the effects of pregnancy and lactation on iron metabolism. Rats with different days of gestation and lactation were used to determine the variations in iron stores and serum iron level and the changes in expression of iron metabolism-related proteins, including ferritin, ferroportin 1 (FPN1), ceruloplasmin (Cp), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), and the major iron-regulatory molecule—hepcidin. We found that iron stores decline dramatically at late-pregnancy period, and the low iron store status persists throughout the lactation period. The significantly increased FPN1 level in small intestine facilitates digestive iron absorption, which maintains the serum iron concentration at a near-normal level to meet the increase of iron requirements. Moreover, a significant decrease of hepcidin expression is observed during late-pregnancy and early-lactation stages, suggesting the important regulatory role that hepcidin plays in iron metabolism during pregnancy and lactation. These results are fundamental to the understanding of iron homeostasis during pregnancy and lactation and may provide experimental bases for future studies to identify key molecules expressed during these special periods that regulate the expression of hepcidin, to eventually improve the iron-deficiency status.
Highlights
Iron is an essential trace element for almost all life forms on earth
We found that the hepatic non-heme iron level seemed increased slightly at early-pregnancy stage as shown in the 9-day pregnancy (9 dP) group (Figure 1(a))
We found a progressive increase in iron levels (Figure 1(a), 1-day lactation (1 dL) to 21 dL), which were still well below the control level even in the 14-day lactation group (P < 0.05)
Summary
Iron is an essential trace element for almost all life forms on earth. In human, iron and iron-containing compounds play critical roles in several biologically important processes, including oxygen transport and storage, electron transport, energy metabolism, and antioxidant and DNA synthesis. It has been found that iron demand increases notably in pregnant women because of the expansion of the maternal erythrocyte mass and the growth and development of the fetus [2, 3]. The increased iron demand is met initially through the use of maternal iron stores primarily from the liver [4]. As iron stores are depleted, if functional iron absorbed from the diet could not maintain an adequate iron supply for both the mother and the fetus [3], iron-deficiency anemia would occur [2]. Dysregulations of iron metabolism in pregnant women were described as early as the 19th century [2, 3, 5], few studies were conducted ever since at the molecular level to investigate the molecules involved in the regulation of iron homeostasis
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