Guo Song, Zhang Di, Zhao Shan, Zhang Huan, Sun Yijuan, Yan Li
Gynecology Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
Obstetrics Department, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Jinan, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
Pharmgenomics Pers Med. 2023 May 6;16:425-432. doi: 10.2147/PGPM.S406257. eCollection 2023.
It is well established that female fertility declines with age, primarily because of loss of ovarian function. However, few studies have clarified the relationship between increasing age and endometrial receptivity. Here, we aimed to study the impact of age on endometrial receptivity, meanwhile, we examined the expression of endometrial mesenchymal stem cell (eMSC) surface markers (CD146 and PDGF-Rβ), essential for endometrial development and re-growth, in different age groups.
Participants were enrolled in this study between October 2020 and July 2021. All 31 patients were divided into three age groups; early (30-39 years old, n=10), intermediate (40-49 years old, n=12) and advanced (≥50 years old, n=9). We assessed localization and expression of CD146 and PDGF-Rβ by immunofluorescence and further analyzed selected endometrial receptivity markers (Homeobox A10 HOXA10, leukemia inhibitory factor LIF and osteopontin) and steroid hormone receptors by immunohistochemistry.
There were no significant differences in expression of HOXA10 and OPN (p>0.05) among the three groups. However, we found a significant difference in LIF expression between the early and advanced age groups, with higher expression noted in the latter group (p=0.02). Similarly, estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression were significantly increased (p=0.01 and p=0.01, respectively) in the advanced age group compared with the early age group. There were no significant difference in CD146 and PDGF-Rβ expression among the three groups (p>0.05).
These results suggest that the age of the patient does not influence their endometrial receptivity. So, this study serves to increase our understanding of the impact of age and eMSCs on endometrial receptivity and expands the etiology of age-related infertility.
众所周知，女性生育能力会随着年龄增长而下降，主要原因是卵巢功能丧失。然而，很少有研究阐明年龄增长与子宫内膜容受性之间的关系。在此，我们旨在研究年龄对子宫内膜容受性的影响，同时，我们检测了不同年龄组中对子宫内膜发育和再生至关重要的子宫内膜间充质干细胞（eMSC）表面标志物（CD146和血小板衍生生长因子受体β，PDGF-Rβ）的表达。
2020年10月至2021年7月期间招募了本研究的参与者。所有31例患者被分为三个年龄组；年轻组（30 - 39岁，n = 10）、中年组（40 - 49岁，n = 12）和老年组（≥50岁，n = 9）。我们通过免疫荧光评估CD146和PDGF-Rβ的定位和表达，并通过免疫组织化学进一步分析选定的子宫内膜容受性标志物（同源框A10，HOXA10、白血病抑制因子，LIF和骨桥蛋白）以及类固醇激素受体。
三组之间HOXA10和OPN的表达无显著差异（p>0.05）。然而，我们发现年轻组和老年组之间LIF表达存在显著差异，老年组表达更高（p = 0.02）。同样，与年轻组相比，老年组雌激素受体（ER）和孕激素受体（PR）表达显著增加（分别为p = 0.01和p = 0.01）。三组之间CD146和PDGF-Rβ表达无显著差异（p>0.05）。
这些结果表明患者年龄不影响其子宫内膜容受性。因此，本研究有助于增加我们对年龄和eMSCs对子宫内膜容受性影响的理解，并扩展了与年龄相关不孕症的病因。
