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Knight AK, Spencer JB, Smith AK. DNA methylation as a window into female reproductive aging. Epigenomics 2024; 16:175-188. [PMID: 38131149 PMCID: PMC10841041 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2023-0298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
People with ovaries experience reproductive aging as their reproductive function and system declines. This has significant implications for both fertility and long-term health, with people experiencing an increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders after menopause. Reproductive aging can be assessed through markers of ovarian reserve, response to fertility treatment or molecular biomarkers, including DNA methylation. Changes in DNA methylation with age associate with poorer reproductive outcomes, and epigenome-wide studies can provide insight into genes and pathways involved. DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks can quantify biological age in reproductive tissues and systemically. This review provides an overview of hallmarks and theories of aging in the context of the reproductive system, and then focuses on studies of DNA methylation in reproductive tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Knight
- Research Division, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Jessica B Spencer
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Division, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Alicia K Smith
- Research Division, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Division, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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Yan H, Miranda EAD, Jin S, Wilson F, An K, Godbee B, Zheng X, Brau-Rodríguez AR, Lei L. Primary oocytes with cellular senescence features are involved in ovarian aging in mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.08.574768. [PMID: 38260383 PMCID: PMC10802418 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.08.574768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
In mammalian females, quiescent primordial follicles serve as the ovarian reserve and sustain normal ovarian function and egg production via folliculogenesis. The loss of primordial follicles causes ovarian aging. Cellular senescence, characterized by cell cycle arrest and production of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), is associated with tissue aging. In the present study, we report that some quiescent primary oocytes in primordial follicles become senescent in adult mouse ovaries. The senescent primary oocytes share senescence markers characterized in senescent somatic cells. The senescent primary oocytes were observed in young adult mouse ovaries, remained at approximately 15% of the total primary oocytes during ovarian aging from 6 months to 12 months, and accumulated in aged ovaries. Administration of a senolytic drug ABT263 to 3-month-old mice reduced the percentage of senescent primary oocytes and the transcription of the SASP cytokines in the ovary. In addition, led to increased numbers of primordial and total follicles and a higher rate of oocyte maturation and female fertility. Our study provides experimental evidence that primary oocytes, a germline cell type that is arrested in meiosis, become senescent in adult mouse ovaries and that senescent cell clearance reduced primordial follicle loss and mitigated ovarian aging phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yan
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, 94945
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Embryology, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218
| | - Edgar Andres Diaz Miranda
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Shiying Jin
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Faith Wilson
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
- Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Kang An
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Brooke Godbee
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
- College of Health Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Xiaobin Zheng
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Embryology, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218
| | - Astrid Roshealy Brau-Rodríguez
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
| | - Lei Lei
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
- Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 65211
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