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Liu B, Liu Y, Li S, Chen P, Zhang J, Feng L. Depletion of placental brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is attributed to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) in mice offspring. J Ovarian Res 2024; 17:141. [PMID: 38982490 PMCID: PMC11232340 DOI: 10.1186/s13048-024-01467-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is one of the causes of female infertility. Unexplained POI is increasingly affecting women in their reproductive years. However, the etiology of POI is diverse and remains elusive. We and others have shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in adult ovarian function. Here, we report on a novel role of BDNF in the Developmental Origins of POI. METHODS Placental BDNF knockout mice were created using CRISPR/CAS9. Homozygous knockout (cKO(HO)) mice didn't survive, while heterozygous knockout (cKO(HE)) mice did. BDNF reduction in cKO(HE) mice was confirmed via immunohistochemistry and Western blots. Ovaries were collected from cKO(HE) mice at various ages, analyzing ovarian metrics, FSH expression, and litter sizes. In one-month-old mice, oocyte numbers were assessed using super-ovulation, and oocyte gene expression was analyzed with smart RNAseq. Ovaries of P7 mice were studied with SEM, and gene expression was confirmed with RT-qPCR. Alkaline phosphatase staining at E11.5 and immunofluorescence for cyclinD1 assessed germ cell number and cell proliferation. RESULTS cKO(HE) mice had decreased ovarian function and litter size in adulthood. They were insensitive to ovulation induction drugs manifested by lower oocyte release after superovulation in one-month-old cKO(HE) mice. The transcriptome and SEM results indicate that mitochondria-mediated cell death or aging might occur in cKO(HE) ovaries. Decreased placental BDNF led to diminished primordial germ cell proliferation at E11.5 and ovarian reserve which may underlie POI in adulthood. CONCLUSION The current results showed decreased placental BDNF diminished primordial germ cell proliferation in female fetuses during pregnancy and POI in adulthood. Our findings can provide insights into understanding the underlying mechanisms of POI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Department of Reproduction, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yongjie Liu
- Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuman Li
- Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Pingping Chen
- Department of Reproduction, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Ministry of Education-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Liping Feng
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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Bernstein LR, Mackenzie ACL, Chaffin CL, Lee SJ, Kraemer DC, Merchenthaler I. Gonadotropin elevation is ootoxic to ovulatory oocytes and inhibits oocyte maturation, and activin decoy receptor ActRIIB:Fc therapeutically restores maturation. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2024; 22:52. [PMID: 38711160 PMCID: PMC11071334 DOI: 10.1186/s12958-024-01224-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elevated FSH often occurs in women of advanced maternal age (AMA, age ≥ 35) and in infertility patients undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). There is controversy on whether high endogenous FSH contributes to infertility and whether high exogenous FSH adversely impacts patient pregnancy rates. METHODS The senescence-accelerated mouse-prone-8 (SAMP8) model of female reproductive aging was employed to assess the separate impacts of age and high FSH activity on the percentages (%) of viable and mature ovulated oocytes recovered after gonadotropin treatment. Young and midlife mice were treated with the FSH analog equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) to model both endogenous FSH elevation and exogenous FSH elevation. Previously we showed the activin inhibitor ActRIIB:Fc increases oocyte quality by preventing chromosome and spindle misalignments. Therefore, ActRIIB:Fc treatment was performed in an effort to increase % oocyte viability and % oocyte maturation. RESULTS The high FSH activity of eCG is ootoxic to ovulatory oocytes, with greater decreases in % viable oocytes in midlife than young mice. High FSH activity of eCG potently inhibits oocyte maturation, decreasing the % of mature oocytes to similar degrees in young and midlife mice. ActRIIB:Fc treatment does not prevent eCG ootoxicity, but it restores most oocyte maturation impeded by eCG. CONCLUSIONS FSH ootoxicity to ovulatory oocytes and FSH maturation inhibition pose a paradox given the well-known pro-growth and pro-maturation activities of FSH in the earlier stages of oocyte growth. We propose the FOOT Hypothesis ("FSH OoToxicity Hypothesis), that FSH ootoxicity to ovulatory oocytes comprises a new driver of infertility and low pregnancy success rates in DOR women attempting spontaneous pregnancy and in COS/IUI patients, especially AMA women. We speculate that endogenous FSH elevation also contributes to reduced fecundity in these DOR and COS/IUI patients. Restoration of oocyte maturation by ActRIB:Fc suggests that activin suppresses oocyte maturation in vivo. This contrasts with prior studies showing activin A promotes oocyte maturation in vitro. Improved oocyte maturation with agents that decrease endogenous activin activity with high specificity may have therapeutic benefit for COS/IVF patients, COS/IUI patients, and DOR patients attempting spontaneous pregnancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lori R Bernstein
- Pregmama, LLC, Gaithersburg, MD, 20886, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A & M School of Medicine, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
| | - Amelia C L Mackenzie
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A & M School of Medicine, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
- FHI 360, Durham, NC, 27701, USA
| | - Charles L Chaffin
- Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
| | - Se-Jin Lee
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
- The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA
| | - Duane C Kraemer
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A & M School of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Istvan Merchenthaler
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
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Bernstein LR, Mackenzie ACL, Durkin K, Kraemer DC, Chaffin CL, Merchenthaler I. Maternal age and gonadotrophin elevation cooperatively decrease viable ovulated oocytes and increase ootoxicity, chromosome-, and spindle-misalignments: '2-Hit' and 'FSH-OoToxicity' mechanisms as new reproductive aging hypotheses. Mol Hum Reprod 2023; 29:gaad030. [PMID: 37643633 DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gaad030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
While there is consensus that advanced maternal age (AMA) reduces oocyte yield and quality, the notion that high FSH reduces oocyte quality and causes aneuploidy remains controversial, perhaps due to difficulties controlling the confounding variables of age and FSH levels. Here, contributions of age and gonadotrophin elevation were separately controlled using a mouse model of human female reproductive aging. Ovulated oocytes were collected from young and midlife mice after 0-, 2.6-, or 17-day treatment with the FSH analog equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG), to model both exogenous FSH elevation within a single treatment cycle (as in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS)), and chronic endogenous FSH elevation during multiple cycles (as in diminished ovarian reserve). After 17-day eCG, fewer total oocytes/mouse are ovulated in midlife than young mice, and a precipitous decline in viable oocytes/mouse is observed in midlife but not young mice throughout eCG treatment. eCG is potently ootoxic to ovulatory oocytes and strongly induces chromosome- and spindle-misalignments within 2.6 days of eCG in midlife, but only after 17 days in young mice. These data indicate that AMA increases susceptibility to multiple adverse effects of elevated FSH activity in ovulated oocytes, including declines in total and viable oocytes/mouse, and induction of ootoxicity and aneuploidy. Two hypotheses are proposed for underlying causes of infertility in women. The FSH OOToxicity Hypothesis ('FOOT Hypothesis') posits that high FSH is ootoxic to ovulatory oocytes and that FSH ootoxicity is a root cause of low pregnancy success rates in naturally cycling women with high FSH and IUI patients undergoing COS. The '2-Hit Hypothesis' posits that AMA increases susceptibility to FSH-induced ootoxicity and aneuploidy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lori R Bernstein
- Pregmama LLC, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Texas A & M School of Medicine, College Station, TX, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Amelia C L Mackenzie
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Keith Durkin
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Duane C Kraemer
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A & M College of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Charles L Chaffin
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Istvan Merchenthaler
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Bernstein LR, Treff NR. Editorial: Causes of Oocyte Aneuploidy and Infertility in Advanced Maternal Age and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12:652990. [PMID: 33708177 PMCID: PMC7940751 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.652990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lori R. Bernstein
- Pregmama, LLC, Gaithersburg, MD, United States
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Lori R. Bernstein,
| | - Nathan R. Treff
- Genomic Prediction Inc., North Brunswick, NJ, United States
- Genomic Prediction Clinical Laboratory, North Brunswick, NJ, United States
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Mikwar M, MacFarlane AJ, Marchetti F. Mechanisms of oocyte aneuploidy associated with advanced maternal age. MUTATION RESEARCH. REVIEWS IN MUTATION RESEARCH 2020; 785:108320. [PMID: 32800274 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2020.108320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
It is well established that maternal age is associated with a rapid decline in the production of healthy and high-quality oocytes resulting in reduced fertility in women older than 35 years of age. In particular, chromosome segregation errors during meiotic divisions are increasingly common and lead to the production of oocytes with an incorrect number of chromosomes, a condition known as aneuploidy. When an aneuploid oocyte is fertilized by a sperm it gives rise to an aneuploid embryo that, except in rare situations, will result in a spontaneous abortion. As females advance in age, they are at higher risk of infertility, miscarriage, or having a pregnancy affected by congenital birth defects such as Down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18), and Turner syndrome (monosomy X). Here, we review the potential molecular mechanisms associated with increased chromosome segregation errors during meiosis as a function of maternal age. Our review shows that multiple exogenous and endogenous factors contribute to the age-related increase in oocyte aneuploidy. Specifically, the weight of evidence indicates that recombination failure, cohesin deterioration, spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) disregulation, abnormalities in post-translational modification of histones and tubulin, and mitochondrial dysfunction are the leading causes of oocyte aneuploidy associated with maternal aging. There is also growing evidence that dietary and other bioactive interventions may mitigate the effect of maternal aging on oocyte quality and oocyte aneuploidy, thereby improving fertility outcomes. Maternal age is a major concern for aneuploidy and genetic disorders in the offspring in the context of an increasing proportion of mothers having children at increasingly older ages. A better understanding of the mechanisms associated with maternal aging leading to aneuploidy and of intervention strategies that may mitigate these detrimental effects and reduce its occurrence are essential for preventing abnormal reproductive outcomes in the human population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myy Mikwar
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Nutrition Research Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Amanda J MacFarlane
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Nutrition Research Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Francesco Marchetti
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Mechanistic Studies Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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Association the Study of between CGA rs6631A>T Gene Polymorphism with the Risk of Male Infertility. PAJOUHAN SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL 2019. [DOI: 10.52547/psj.18.1.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
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