Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
J Ovarian Res. 2023 Apr 6;16(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s13048-023-01151-z.
Ovarian aging is a natural and physiological aging process characterized by loss of quantity and quality of oocyte or follicular pool. As it is generally accepted that women are born with a finite follicle pool that will go through constant decline without renewing, which, together with decreased oocyte quality, makes a severe situation for women who is of advanced age but desperate for a healthy baby. The aim of our review was to investigate mechanisms leading to ovarian aging by discussing both extra- and intra- ovarian factors and to identify genetic characteristics of ovarian aging. The mechanisms were identified as both extra-ovarian alternation of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and intra-ovarian alternation of ovary itself, including telomere, mitochondria, oxidative stress, DNA damage, protein homeostasis, aneuploidy, apoptosis and autophagy. Moreover, here we reviewed related Genome-wide association studies (GWAS studies) from 2009 to 2021 and next generation sequencing (NGS) studies of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in order to describe genetic characteristics of ovarian aging. It is reasonable to wish more reliable anti-aging interventions for ovarian aging as the exploration of mechanisms and genetics being progressing.
卵巢衰老是一种自然的生理衰老过程，其特征是卵母细胞或卵泡池数量和质量的丧失。人们普遍认为，女性出生时就拥有一个有限的卵泡池，而且这个卵泡池会不断减少，不会更新，再加上卵母细胞质量下降，这使得高龄且渴望生育健康婴儿的女性面临着严峻的局面。我们的综述旨在通过讨论卵巢外和卵巢内的因素来研究导致卵巢衰老的机制，并确定卵巢衰老的遗传特征。这些机制包括下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴的卵巢外改变和卵巢本身的卵巢内改变，包括端粒、线粒体、氧化应激、DNA 损伤、蛋白质稳态、非整倍体、细胞凋亡和自噬。此外，我们还回顾了 2009 年至 2021 年与卵巢衰老相关的全基因组关联研究（GWAS 研究）以及原发性卵巢功能不全（POI）的下一代测序（NGS）研究，以描述卵巢衰老的遗传特征。随着对机制和遗传学的探索，为卵巢衰老寻求更可靠的抗衰老干预措施是合理的。
