Aging Human Bodies and Aging Human Oocytes Run On Different Clocks
Date: 12.12.2011
Reproductive and somatic aging use different molecular mechanisms that show little overlap between the types of genes required to keep oocytes healthy and the genes that generally extend life span.
The different genetic pathways help explain why a woman's fertility begins to decline after she is 35 years old, while her other cells do not show significant signs of aging until decades later, Murphy explained.
"It seems that maintaining protein and cell quality is the most important component of somatic longevity in worms," Murphy said, "while chromosomal/DNA integrity and cell cycle control are the most critical factors for oocyte health."
Finding ways to delay oocyte aging would reduce an older woman's risk of giving birth to a child with birth defects, Murphy said.
