ArticleScience translational medicine2020
Lactation improves pancreatic β cell mass and function through serotonin production.
Article in Science translational medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of breastfeeding prevalence, duration and determining factors in women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2026Pooled it
- 2023 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diabetes Management in Korea: Full Version Recommendation of the Korean Diabetes Association.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2024Guideline
- A high-fat, high-sugar diet impairs maternal metabolism throughout pregnancy and lactation in mice.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Phosphodiesterase ENPP2, which is co-upregulated in obese and pregnant mice, is essential for islet beta cell compensation during obesity.Diabetologia · 2026Article
- Distinct macronutrient ratios optimize offspring survival, growth, and maternal glucose tolerance across mouse reproduction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- c-Jun regulates postpartum β-cell apoptosis and survival downstream of prolactin signaling.Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2025Article
- 2025 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diabetes Management in Korea: Recommendation of the Korean Diabetes Association.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2025Article
- ACSS2 mediates an epigenetic pathway to regulate β-cell adaptation during gestation in mice.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Is Breastfeeding an Effective Approach to Reduce Metabolic Risk After GDM in Mothers and Infants?Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Quality of Life in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Treatment Satisfaction Upon Intermittently Scanned Continuous Glucose Monitoring.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Observational
- NRF2 deficiency leads to inadequate beta cell adaptation during pregnancy and gestational diabetes.Redox biology · 2025Article
- Comparison Between SGLT2 Inhibitors and Lactation: Implications for Cardiometabolic Health in Parous Women.Metabolic syndrome and related disorders · 2025Review
- Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Mechanisms Underlying Maternal and Fetal Complications.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2025Review
- Article
- Review
- Improvements in Insulin Resistance and Glucose Metabolism Related to Breastfeeding Are Not Mediated by Subclinical Inflammation.Metabolites · 2024Article
- High-risk pregnancy and risk of breastfeeding failure.The Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association · 2024Article
- Amelioration of Insulin Resistance after Delivery Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Postpartum Diabetes in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2024Article
- 5-Methoxy-2-aminoindane Reverses Diet-Induced Obesity and Improves Metabolic Parameters in Mice: A Potential New Class of Antiobesity Therapeutics.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2024Article
- Pancreatic beta-cell mass and function and therapeutic implications of using antidiabetic medications in type 2 diabetes.Journal of diabetes investigation · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pregnancy imposes a substantial metabolic burden on women through weight gain and insulin resistance. Lactation reduces the risk of maternal postpartum diabetes, but the mechanisms underlying this benefit are unknown. Here, we identified long-term beneficial effects of lactation on β cell function, which last for years after the cessation of lactation. We analyzed metabolic phenotypes including β cell characteristics in lactating and non-lactating humans and mice. Lactating and non-lactating women showed comparable glucose tolerance at 2 months after delivery, but after a mean of 3.6 years, glucose tolerance in lactated women had improved compared to non-lactated women. In humans, the disposition index, a measure of insulin secretory function of β cells considering the degree of insulin sensitivity, was higher in lactated women at 3.6 years after delivery. In mice, lactation improved glucose tolerance and increased β cell mass at 3 weeks after delivery. Amelioration of glucose tolerance and insulin secretion were maintained up to 4 months after delivery in lactated mice. During lactation, prolactin induced serotonin production in β cells. Secreted serotonin stimulated β cell proliferation through serotonin receptor 2B in an autocrine and paracrine manner. In addition, intracellular serotonin acted as an antioxidant to mitigate oxidative stress and improved β cell survival. Together, our results suggest that serotonin mediates the long-term beneficial effects of lactation on female metabolic health by increasing β cell proliferation and reducing oxidative stress in β cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.