Role of Visfatin in fertility and reproduction

Adipose tissue communicates with other central organs and the environment through the synthesis and release of substances called adipokines. Visfatin is an adipocytokine and a polyotropic protein whose function acts not only as an enzyme, but as an adipocytokine, a growth factor, and cytokine as well. Over the past few years, new roles have emerged for visfatin in terms of fertility and reproduction. The purpose of the present study is to summarize the current knowledge on this subject. In the present study, 137 full-text and short articles were obtained and reviewed through the electronic search by entering the relevant key words in Sciencedirect, Pubmed, Google scholar, Google published from 1993 to 2016. The results of several studies support the strong association of visfatin with insulin resistance-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and PCOD. In addition, with the deviation of embryo development from its natural course (embryo growth limitation and macrosomia), the initiation of labor is associated with sexual maturation (spermatogenesis) in males and the increase in the number and quality of oocytes in people with PCOD undergoing Infertility treatment through stimulating inflammatory responses. The results of this review report confirm the role of visfatin in fertility and reproduction. Further research to understand the relationship between visfatin and fertility disorders and pregnancy complications is needed in order to find possible medical treatments.