Atkins Hannah M, Willson Cynthia J, Silverstein Marnie, Jorgensen Matthew, Floyd Edison, Kaplan Jay R, Appt Susan E
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, Texas, USA.
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Department of Pathology (Comparative Medicine) and the Wake Forest University Primate Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Comp Med. 2014 Feb;64(1):55-62.
Female vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus) are used as an experimental model for chronic diseases relevant to women's health. However, reproductive senescence (menopause) has not yet been characterized for vervet monkeys. Here we describe the histologic, hormonal, and menstrual markers of reproductive senescence in vervet monkeys from the Wake Forest Vervet Research Colony. Ovaries from monkeys (age, 0 to 27 y) were serially sectioned (5 μm), stained, and photographed. In every 100th section, the numbers of primordial, primary, and secondary follicles were determined, and triplicate measurements were used to calculate mean numbers of follicles per ovary. Antimüllerian hormone (AMH), follicle stimulating hormone, and menstrual cycle length were measured in additional monkeys. Primordial follicles and AMH decreased significantly with age, and significant correlations between numbers of primordial and primary follicles and between numbers of primary and secondary follicles were noted. Histologic evaluation revealed that ovaries from 4 aged monkeys (older than 23 y) were senescent. One aged monkey transitioned to menopause, experiencing cycle irregularity over 4 y, eventual cessation of menses, and plasma AMH below the level of detection. Finally, with increasing age, the percentage of female vervets with offspring declined significantly. The present study provides insight into ovarian aging and reproductive senescence in vervet monkeys. Results highlight the importance of considering this nonhuman primate as a model to investigate the relationships between ovarian aging and chronic disease risk.
雌性绿猴（Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus）被用作与女性健康相关的慢性疾病的实验模型。然而，绿猴的生殖衰老（绝经）尚未得到明确描述。在此，我们描述了来自维克森林绿猴研究群体的绿猴生殖衰老的组织学、激素和月经指标。对猴子（年龄0至27岁）的卵巢进行连续切片（5微米）、染色和拍照。在每第100个切片中，确定原始卵泡、初级卵泡和次级卵泡的数量，并进行三次测量以计算每个卵巢卵泡的平均数量。在另外的猴子中测量抗苗勒管激素（AMH）、促卵泡激素和月经周期长度。原始卵泡和AMH随年龄显著减少，并且原始卵泡与初级卵泡数量之间以及初级卵泡与次级卵泡数量之间存在显著相关性。组织学评估显示，4只老年猴子（年龄超过23岁）的卵巢出现衰老。一只老年猴子进入绝经状态，在4年中经历了月经周期不规律，最终停经，且血浆AMH低于检测水平。最后，随着年龄的增长，有后代的雌性绿猴的比例显著下降。本研究为绿猴的卵巢衰老和生殖衰老提供了见解。结果凸显了将这种非人类灵长类动物作为研究卵巢衰老与慢性病风险之间关系的模型的重要性。
