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
. 2022 Aug 19:13:952471.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.952471. eCollection 2022.

Aging conundrum: A perspective for ovarian aging

Jiachen Wu  1 , Yang Liu  1 , Yinhua Song  1 , Lingjuan Wang  1 , Jihui Ai  1 , Kezhen Li  1
Affiliations
Review

Aging conundrum: A perspective for ovarian aging

Jiachen Wu et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Progressive loss of physiological integrity and accumulation of degenerative changes leading to functional impairment and increased susceptibility to diseases are the main features of aging. The ovary, the key organ that maintains female reproductive and endocrine function, enters aging earlier and faster than other organs and has attracted extensive attention from society. Ovarian aging is mainly characterized by the progressive decline in the number and quality of oocytes, the regulatory mechanisms of which have yet to be systematically elucidated. This review discusses the hallmarks of aging to further highlight the main characteristics of ovarian aging and attempt to explore its clinical symptoms and underlying mechanisms. Finally, the intervention strategies related to aging are elaborated, especially the potential role of stem cells and cryopreservation of embryos, oocytes, or ovarian tissue in the delay of ovarian aging.

Keywords: aging; interventions; oocyte; ovarian aging; ovary.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The current hallmarks of aging.
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. Smits M, Janssens GE, Goddijn M, Hamer G, Houtkooper RH, Mastenbroek S. Longevity pathways are associated with human ovarian ageing. Hum Reprod Open (2021) 2:hoab020. doi: 10.1093/hropen/hoab020 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Broekmans FJ, Soules MR, Fauser BC. Ovarian aging: mechanisms and clinical consequences. Endocr Rev (2009) 30:465–93. doi: 10.1210/er.2009-0006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Llarena N, Hine C. Reproductive longevity and aging: Geroscience approaches to maintain long-term ovarian fitness. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci (2021) 76:1551–60. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa204 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nikolaou D, Templeton A. Early ovarian ageing: a hypothesis. detection and clinical relevance. Hum Reprod (2003) 18:1137–9. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deg245 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types