title: Effects of Pregnancy and Lactation on Iron Metabolism in Rats.
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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Guofen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Shang-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Jie
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Tian-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China; The 3rd Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, China.
authors.forename: Shu-E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Iron Metabolism, College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Zhong
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D002570:Ceruloplasmin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D015870:Gene Expression; D064451:Hepcidins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D007774:Lactation / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000097:blood; D000098742:Ferroportin; D000099236:Solute Carrier Family 11, Member 2
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D002570:Ceruloplasmin; D005293:Ferritins; D064451:Hepcidins; D007501:Iron; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D000098742:Ferroportin; D000099236:Solute Carrier Family 11, Member 2; C068126:CD71 antigen; C545564:Tfrc protein, rat