Impaired antioxidant activity is a key aspect of ovarian aging, which can result in cell death and decreased fertility in monkeys, report the authors of a study published on January 30 in Cell. Researchers identified seven types of ovarian cells in cynomolgus monkeys and found transcriptional changes in antioxidant signaling “indicative of oxidative damage as a crucial factor in ovarian functional decline with age,” they write in the paper. Human ovarian cells revealed two antioxidant genes, IDH1 and NDUFB10, whose function decreased in response to cellular stress and may be targets for preserving fertility, according to a press release.
“Our research is enabling the identification of new biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of female infertility as well as aging-associated human ovarian disorders,” says coauthor Concepcion Rodriquez Esteban of the Salk Institute, in the statement. “These genes could possibly be targeted for the development of therapies to assist with fertility ...
