Department of Human Anatomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Reproduction. 2012 Jan 1;143(1):1-10. doi: 10.1530/REP-11-0350. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
Maternal aging adversely affects oocyte quality (function and developmental potential) and consequently lowers pregnancy rates while increasing spontaneous abortions. Substantial evidence, especially from egg donation studies, implicates the decreased quality of an aging oocyte as a major factor in the etiology of female infertility. Nevertheless, the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the decreased oocyte quality with advanced maternal aging are not fully characterized. Herein we present information in the published literature and our own data to support the hypothesis that during aging induced decreases in mitochondrial ceramide levels and associated alterations in mitochondrial structure and function are prominent elements contributing to reduced oocyte quality. Hence, by examining the molecular determinants that underlie impairments in oocyte mitochondria, we expect to sieve to a better understanding of the mechanistic anatomy of oocyte aging.
母体老化会对卵子质量（功能和发育潜能）产生不利影响，从而降低受孕率，增加自然流产率。大量证据表明，尤其是来自捐卵研究的证据表明，老化卵子质量下降是女性不孕的主要因素。然而，导致高龄产妇卵子质量下降的细胞和分子机制尚未完全阐明。本文我们提供了已发表文献中的信息和我们自己的数据，以支持这样一种假设，即在衰老诱导的线粒体神经酰胺水平下降和相关的线粒体结构和功能改变的情况下，这些都是导致卵子质量下降的重要因素。因此，通过研究卵子线粒体损伤的分子决定因素，我们期望更好地理解卵子衰老的机制解剖学。
