Suppressive Role of Lactoferrin in Overweight-Related Female Fertility Problems.

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.

Human Semenogelin 1 Promotes Sperm Survival in the Mouse Female Reproductive Tract.

Semenogelin 1 (SEMG1), a main component of human seminal plasma, is a multi-functional protein involved in the regulation of sperm motility and fertility. SEMG1 is orthologous to mouse seminal vesicle secretion 2 (SVS2), required for sperm survival in the female reproductive tract after copulation; however, its in vivo function remains unclear. In this study, we addressed this issue by examining the effect of recombinant SEMG1 on intrauterine mouse sperm survival. SEMG1 caused a dose-dependent decrease in mouse sperm motility, similar to its effect on human sperm, but SVS2 had no effect on mouse sperm motility. Mouse epididymal sperm in the presence of 100 µM SEMG1, a concentration that does not affect mouse sperm motility, were injected into the mouse uterus (intrauterine insemination, IUI). IUI combined with SEMG1 significantly increased the survival rate of intrauterine mouse sperm. The effect of SEMG1 on intrauterine sperm survival was comparable with that of SVS2. For clinical applications, three potentially sperm-protecting polypeptides that are easy to handle were designed from SEMG1, but their individual use was unable to mimic the ability of SEMG1. Our results indicate that SEMG1 has potential clinical applications for effective IUI and thereby for safe, simple, and effective internal fertilization.