Reproductive ageing in women

Abstract

The traditional view in respect to female reproduction is that the number of oocytes at birth is fixed and continuously declines towards the point when no more oocytes are available after menopause. In this review we briefly discuss the embryonic development of female germ cells and ovarian follicles. The ontogeny of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is then discussed, with a focus on pubertal transition and normal ovulatory menstrual cycles during female adult life. Biochemical markers of menopausal transition are briefly examined. We also examine the effects of age on female fertility, the contribution of chromosomal abnormalities of the oocyte to the observed decline in female fertility with age and the possible biological basis for the occurrence of such abnormalities. Finally, we consider the effects of maternal age on obstetric complications and perinatal outcome. New data that have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of mammalian oogenesis and follicular formation, and of the female reproductive ageing process, are also briefly considered.

The protective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on damaged ovarian function: A comparative study

“…At the 16 th -20 th week of fetal development, the ovaries contain 6-7 million primordial follicles (1,2), which serve as a source of developing follicles (1,3,4). Unfortunately, the number of oocytes inevitably declines with age.…”

Age-associated changes in bovine oocytes and granulosa cell complexes collected from early antral follicles

“…After opening the EAFs, OGCs were dissected from the EAFs with fine forceps and were washed in culture medium, transferred individually to 200 μL of culture medium in a well (96-well plate, Becton Dickinson; NJ, USA), and cultured for 16 days. Half of the medium was replaced with fresh medium and the rate of antrum formation was examined for each donor every 4 days (4,8,12, and 16 days of culture).…”

“…In addition to the low quality of oocytes, ovarian reserve also declines with age in humans [12] and the reduced antral follicle counts reflect the sub fertility in reproductive aging women as well as cows [13,14]. Thus, it is important to leverage early developmental-stage follicles as an oocyte source in aged females.…”

Stable Inheritance of Host Species-Derived Microchromosomes in the Gynogenetic Fish Poecilia formosa

“…An increase of genotypic instability with maternal age has been observed in other species with a prolonged meiotic prophase (Djahanbakhch et al 2007). In the ameiotic Amazon molly, a different mechanism might operate.…”