L-carnitine alters lipid body content in pre-implantation embryos leading to infertility

Kyvelidou, Christiana; George, Tserevelakis; George, Filippidis; Tsagkaraki, Margarita; Anna, Tsouko; Fotakis, C.; Athanassakis, Irene

doi:10.1016/j.jri.2013.12.117

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Carnitines are reported to increase gonadotropins and sex hormone levels as well as improve oocyte health [ 17 ]. However, the effects of LC on endometriosis are still a matter of debate [ 19 , 29 , 37 , 38 ]. The possible mechanistic pathways through which LC could exert its effects on endometriosis will be discussed in a subsequent section.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carnitines have been showed to have beneficial impacts in most of the studies involving PCOS, endocrine disorders and other cases of infertility. However, as alluded earlier, carnitines appear to possibly exert mixed effects on endometriosis [ 19 , 29 , 37 , 38 ]. Mice and rat models …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They showed that 7 day-LC administration alters the lipid body content in pre-implantation embryos and did not result in live births in these females. This is because lipid body content is an important contributory factor towards healthy oocyte and embryo development and therefore its alteration may lead to infertility [ 37 ]. Conversely, a recent report by Virmani et al (2017) showed that supplementation of carnitines (LC 0.4 mg/mouse + ALC 0.12 mg/mouse) to 8-week-old female CD1 mice not only improved oocyte formation but also increased the number of live birth in superovulated mice [ 48 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of L-carnitine in female infertility

Agarwal

Sengupta

Durairajanayagam

2018

Reprod Biol Endocrinol

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BackgroundL-carnitine (LC), and its acetylated form, acetyl L-carnitine (ALC), have immense functional capabilities to regulate the oxidative and metabolic status of the female reproductive system. The vulnerability of this system to free radicals demand for advanced strategies to combat them. For this purpose, the ‘quasi vitamins’ LC and ALC can be used either individually, or in combination with each other or with other antioxidants.Main bodyThis review (a) summarizes the effects of carnitines on female fertility along with the findings from various in vivo and in vitro studies involving human, animal and assisted reproductive technology, and (b) proposes their mechanism of actions in improving female fertility through their integrated actions on reducing cellular stress, maintaining hormonal balance and enhancing energy production. They reportedly aid β-oxidation in oocytes, maintain its cell membrane stability by acetylation of phospholipids and amphiphilic actions, prevent free radical-induced DNA damage and also stabilize acetyl Co-A/Co-A ratio for adequate acetyl storage as energy supply to maintain the robustness of reproductive cells.ConclusionWhile both LC and ALC have their applications in improving female fertility, ALC is preferred for its better antioxidant properties and LC for amelioration of energy supply to the cells. These beneficial effects show great promise in its application as a treatment option for women facing infertility disorders.

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