The delay of women’s child-bearing age has led to age-induced infertility, which has become a challenging issue in the field of female reproduction. In 1970, women giving birth for the first time were 21 years old; by 2018, the age had increased by 5.9 years to 26.9 years. The proportion of first-time mothers over the age of 35 has increased nearly 10 times. After the age of 35, the rate of aneuploidy in oocytes increased dramatically, especially in women over 40 years old, resulting in the death of more than fifty percent of oocytes. Although assisted reproductive technology (ART) has made great progress in recent years, aged women are still struggling with significantly increasing rate of early pregnancy loss and reduced live birth rate. How to improve the outcome of ART for aged women has become a rigorous challenge in the field of reproductive medicine worldwide. Aging-induced declines in oocyte quality are associated with chromosome misalignment, impaired spindle assembly, mitochondrial dysfunction, abnormal oxidative stress, and epigenetic changes, leading to a common and insurmountable problem for women with advanced maternal age. Although it is known that maternal age is aggressively associated with fertility, there is currently no effective treatment to improve the poor quality of oocytes in aged women.
This research topic aims to update the current knowledge on the pathogenesis of oocyte aging, with special reference to the molecular mechanisms that influence the aging-induced decline of oocyte quality, including aneuploidy, epigenetic changes, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, we also focus on the potential therapeutic applications for oocyte aging.
We call for submissions of Reviews, Original Research, and Systematic Reviews, including but not limited to the following:
• Aging and oocyte aneuploidy;
• Aging and epigenetic changes in oocyte, e.g., DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA-regulated modifications;
• Aging and oxidative stress in oocyte;
• Aging and mitochondrial dysfunction in oocyte;
• Factors affect oocyte aging;
• New methods to prevent or delay oocyte aging.
The delay of women’s child-bearing age has led to age-induced infertility, which has become a challenging issue in the field of female reproduction. In 1970, women giving birth for the first time were 21 years old; by 2018, the age had increased by 5.9 years to 26.9 years. The proportion of first-time mothers over the age of 35 has increased nearly 10 times. After the age of 35, the rate of aneuploidy in oocytes increased dramatically, especially in women over 40 years old, resulting in the death of more than fifty percent of oocytes. Although assisted reproductive technology (ART) has made great progress in recent years, aged women are still struggling with significantly increasing rate of early pregnancy loss and reduced live birth rate. How to improve the outcome of ART for aged women has become a rigorous challenge in the field of reproductive medicine worldwide. Aging-induced declines in oocyte quality are associated with chromosome misalignment, impaired spindle assembly, mitochondrial dysfunction, abnormal oxidative stress, and epigenetic changes, leading to a common and insurmountable problem for women with advanced maternal age. Although it is known that maternal age is aggressively associated with fertility, there is currently no effective treatment to improve the poor quality of oocytes in aged women.
This research topic aims to update the current knowledge on the pathogenesis of oocyte aging, with special reference to the molecular mechanisms that influence the aging-induced decline of oocyte quality, including aneuploidy, epigenetic changes, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, we also focus on the potential therapeutic applications for oocyte aging.
We call for submissions of Reviews, Original Research, and Systematic Reviews, including but not limited to the following:
• Aging and oocyte aneuploidy;
• Aging and epigenetic changes in oocyte, e.g., DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA-regulated modifications;
• Aging and oxidative stress in oocyte;
• Aging and mitochondrial dysfunction in oocyte;
• Factors affect oocyte aging;
• New methods to prevent or delay oocyte aging.