Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Oct 3:2:23.
doi: 10.1186/s40834-017-0050-9. eCollection 2017.

Effect of aging on the female reproductive function

Koumei Shirasuna  1 , Hisataka Iwata  1
Affiliations
Review

Effect of aging on the female reproductive function

Koumei Shirasuna et al. Contracept Reprod Med. .

Abstract

Aging is a complex biological process that involves the accrual of bodily changes over a long life span. In humans, advanced maternal age is associated with infertility and adverse pregnancy complications. Cellular and organic senescence is hypothesized to contribute to the age-related decline in reproductive function. Accumulating evidence suggests that immune cells play pivotal roles in physiological reproductive function and pregnancy. The concept of "inflammaging" has recently emerged- an age-dependent, low-grade, chronic, and systemic inflammatory state induced by the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which is produced by the innate immune, parenchymal, and nonparenchymal cells within the organs. In the present review, we discuss how cellular senescence and inflammaging accelerate reproductive failure in women by promoting SASP and immune-senescence during the establishment of pregnancy. In addition, we discuss the role of immune cells and their senescence in reproductive function, particularly in the ovaries (the corpus luteum), oviduct, and uterus.

Keywords: Aging; Corpus Luteum; Immune cells; Oviduct; Senescence; Uterus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

No applicable.

Consent for publication

No applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relationships between increase of P4 levels after ovulation, embryonic development, and IFNT production. There is a close association between poor embryonic development with low IFNT production and the subsequent low P4 levels in cows. Furthermore, P4 supplementation during the early luteal phase results in an improved embryonic development and increased IFNT production. These findings indicate that one of the key hormones in the establishment of pregnancy and the control of embryonic development is the CL secreted P4
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Possible model of inflammatory-like luteal development. The mechanism of luteal development is considered as an inflammation-like response involving many types of immune cells such as neutrophils and macrophage. They participate in the luteal development by increasing angiogenesis and P4 production
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nelson SM, Telfer EE, Anderson RA. The ageing ovary and uterus: new biological insights. Hum Reprod Update. 2013;19:67–83. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dms043. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wilding M. Potential long-term risks associated with maternal aging (the role of the mitochondria) Fertil Steril. 2015;103:1397–1401. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.03.034. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meldrum DR, Casper RF, Diez-Juan A, Simon C, Domar AD, Frydman R. Aging and the environment affect gamete and embryo potential: can we intervene? Fertil Steril. 2016;105:548–559. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.01.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sanches BV, Marinho LS, Filho BD, Pontes JH, Basso AC, Meirinhos ML, Silva-Santos KC, Ferreira CR, Seneda MM. Cryosurvival and pregnancy rates after exposure of IVF-derived Bos indicus embryos to forskolin before vitrification. Theriogenology. 2013;80:372–377. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2013.04.026. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hasler JF. Forty years of embryo transfer in cattle: a review focusing on the journal Theriogenology, the growth of the industry in North America, and personal reminisces. Theriogenology. 2014;81:152–169. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2013.09.010. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources