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The process of ovarian aging: it is not just about oocytes and granulosa cells

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Abstract

Ovarian age is classically considered the main cause of female reproductive infertility. In women, the process proceeds as an ongoing decline in the primordial follicle stockpile and it is associated with reduced fertility in the mid-thirties, irregular menstruation from the mid-forties, cessation of fertility, and, eventually, menopause in the early fifties. Reproductive aging is historically associated with changes in oocyte quantity and quality. However, besides the oocyte, other cellular as well as environmental factors have been the focus of more recent investigations suggesting that ovarian decay is a complex and multifaceted process. Among these factors, we will consider mitochondria and oxidative stress as related to nutrition, changes in extracellular matrix molecules, and the associated ovarian stromal compartment where immune cells of both the native and adaptive systems seem to play an important role. Understanding such processes is crucial to design treatment strategies to  slow down ovarian aging and consequently prolong reproductive lifespan and, more to this, alleviaingt side effects of menopause on the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems.

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  1. Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Section of Histology and Embryology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Antonella Camaioni, Maria Assunta Ucci, Luisa Campagnolo & Massimo De Felici

  2. Saint Camillus International, University of Health Sciences, Rome, Italy

    Francesca Gioia Klinger

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  1. Antonella Camaioni
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Camaioni, A., Ucci, M.A., Campagnolo, L. et al. The process of ovarian aging: it is not just about oocytes and granulosa cells. J Assist Reprod Genet 39, 783–792 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-022-02478-0

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