Hou Guanmei, Sun Qing-Yuan
College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao266109, China.
State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China.
Zygote. 2020 Jul 8:1-7. doi: 10.1017/S0967199420000143.
Although it is well known that maternal ageing causes reduced oocyte quality and fertility, little information is known about its effect on germ cell epigenetics. In the present study, we compared the gene expression and DNA methylation profiles in germinal vesicle oocytes from young (8-week-old) and aged (18-month-old) mice using single-cell RNA-sequencing and single-cell whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing. We found significant differences in the data from the two groups. Oocytes from aged mice showed significant changes in the expression of some metabolism-related genes, such as mitochondria-associated genes, that was in line with our expectations. Expression of some genes associated with reproduction also showed significant differences. DNA methylation levels were also changed in oocytes from aged mice. The two groups had significant gaps in hypermethylation and hypomethylation levels on each chromosome. These data provide useful information for further understanding the mechanisms of oocyte ageing.
虽然众所周知，母体衰老会导致卵母细胞质量和生育能力下降，但关于其对生殖细胞表观遗传学的影响却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们使用单细胞RNA测序和单细胞全基因组DNA甲基化测序，比较了年轻（8周龄）和老年（18月龄）小鼠生发泡卵母细胞中的基因表达和DNA甲基化谱。我们发现两组数据存在显著差异。老年小鼠的卵母细胞在一些与代谢相关的基因（如线粒体相关基因）的表达上出现了显著变化，这与我们的预期相符。一些与生殖相关的基因表达也显示出显著差异。老年小鼠卵母细胞中的DNA甲基化水平也发生了变化。两组在每条染色体上的高甲基化和低甲基化水平存在显著差距。这些数据为进一步了解卵母细胞衰老机制提供了有用信息。
