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.
Highlights
Being overweight, defined as a non-genetic event with excess fat accumulation throughout the body, increases the risk of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, dyslipidemia, and diabetes [1]
We investigated the positive effects of LF ingestion on the reproductive ability of HF diet-induced obese mice (HF mice) and ob/ob female mice, as well as the health of their neonates
As depicted in the experimental flow (Figure 2a), the female mice were divided into two groups: mice fed HF diets (HF mice) and normal diets
Summary
Being overweight, defined as a non-genetic event with excess fat accumulation throughout the body, increases the risk of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, dyslipidemia, and diabetes [1]. Obesity originating from genetically inherited genomic mutations, and often displaying circadian rhythm disruption, exhibits excessive fat accumulation [1]. Regardless of overweight or obesity, there are considerable concerns for pregnant women due to the correlation with adverse pregnancy outcomes, Nutrients 2022, 14, 938 resulting in insulin-resistant obesity in mice (ob/ob mice) [3]. Regardless of overweight or obesity, there are considerable concerns for pregnant women due to the correlation with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as caesarean section complications, as well as mother such caesarean section complications, as well as and offspring health problems [4]
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