Age-associated changes in cumulus cells and follicular fluid: The local oocyte microenvironment as a determinant of gamete quality

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elnur Babayev ◽  
Francesca E Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Follicular Fluid ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Cumulus Cells ◽  
Antral Follicle ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Reproductive Aging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract The ovary is the first organ to age in humans with functional decline evident already in women in their early thirties. Reproductive aging is characterized by a decrease in oocyte quantity and quality which is associated with an increase in infertility, spontaneous abortions, and birth defects. Reproductive aging also has implications for overall health due to decreased endocrinological output. Understanding the mechanisms underlying reproductive aging has significant societal implications as women globally are delaying childbearing and medical interventions have greatly increased the interval between menopause and total lifespan. Age-related changes inherent to the female gamete are well-characterized and include defects in chromosome and mitochondria structure, function, and regulation. More recently, it has been appreciated that the extra-follicular ovarian environment may have important direct or indirect impacts on the developing gamete, and age-dependent changes include increased fibrosis, inflammation, stiffness, and oxidative damage. The cumulus cells and follicular fluid which directly surround the oocyte during its final growth phase within the antral follicle represent additional critical local microenvironments. Here we systematically review the literature and evaluate the studies that investigated the age-related changes in cumulus cells and follicular fluid. Our findings demonstrate unique genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic changes with associated metabolomic alterations, redox status imbalance, and increased apoptosis in the local oocyte microenvironment. We propose a model of how these changes interact, which may explain the rapid decline in gamete quality with age. We also review the limitations of published studies and highlight future research frontiers.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Eye Blinks Predict Executive Functioning in Seniors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessika I. V. Buitenweg ◽  
Jaap M. J. Murre ◽  
K. Richard Ridderinkhof
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Blink Rate ◽  
Memory Updating ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Working Memory Updating

AbstractAs the world’s population is aging rapidly, cognitive training is an extensively used approach to attempt improvement of age-related cognitive functioning. With increasing numbers of older adults required to remain in the workforce, it is important to be able to reliably predict future functional decline, as well as the individual advantages of cognitive training. Given the correlation between age-related decline and striatal dopaminergic function, we investigated whether eye blink rate (EBR), a non-invasive, indirect indicator of dopaminergic activity, could predict executive functioning (response inhibition, switching and working memory updating) as well as trainability of executive functioning in older adults. EBR was collected before and after a cognitive flexibility training, cognitive training without flexibility, or a mock training. EBR predicted working memory updating performance on two measures of updating, as well as trainability of working memory updating, whereas performance and trainability in inhibition and switching tasks could not be predicted by EBR. Our findings tentatively indicate that EBR permits prediction of working memory performance in older adults. To fully interpret the relationship with executive functioning, we suggest future research should assess both EBR and dopamine receptor availability among seniors.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Ovarian Aging

Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Işıl Kasapoğlu ◽  
Emre Seli
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Ovarian Reserve ◽  
Reproductive Aging ◽  
Ovarian Dysfunction ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Ovarian Aging ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract As women delay childbearing because of demographic and socioeconomic trends, reproductive aging and ensuing ovarian dysfunction become increasingly more prevalent causes of infertility. Age-related decline in fertility is characterized by both quantitative and qualitative deterioration of the ovarian reserve. Importantly, disorders of aging are frequently associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, as are impaired oogenesis and embryogenesis. Ongoing research explores the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in ovarian aging, and potential ways to exploit mitochondrial mechanisms to slow down or reverse age-related changes in female gonads.

Age-Related Changes in Antral Follicle Count among Women with and without Polycystic Ovaries

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Al-Sunaidi ◽  
Sharifa Al-Mahrizi ◽  
Seang Lin Tan ◽  
Togas Tulandi
Keyword(s):  
Antral Follicle ◽  
Antral Follicle Count ◽  
Polycystic Ovaries ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

scholarly journals Profiling of superoxide dismutase isoenzymes in compartments of the developing bovine antral follicles

Reproduction ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 871-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M H Combelles ◽  
Emily A Holick ◽  
Louis J Paolella ◽  
David C Walker ◽  
Qiaqia Wu
Keyword(s):  
Superoxide Dismutase ◽  
Granulosa Cells ◽  
Follicular Fluid ◽  
Follicular Development ◽  
Cumulus Cells ◽  
Antral Follicle ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Sod Activity ◽  
Antral Follicles ◽  
Sod Isoforms

The antral follicle constitutes a complex and regulated ovarian microenvironment that influences oocyte quality. Oxidative stress is a cellular state that may play a role during folliculogenesis and oogenesis, although direct supporting evidence is currently lacking. We thus evaluated the expression of the three isoforms (SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3) of the enzymatic antioxidant superoxide dismutase in all the cellular (granulosa cells, cumulus cells, and oocytes) and extracellular (follicular fluid) compartments of the follicle. Comparisons were made in bovine ovaries across progressive stages of antral follicular development. Follicular fluid possessed increased amounts of SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3 in small antral follicles when compared with large antral follicles; concomitantly, total SOD activity was highest in follicular fluids from smaller diameter follicles. SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3 proteins were expressed in granulosa cells without any fluctuations in follicle sizes. All three SOD isoforms were present, but were distributed differently in oocytes from small, medium, or large antral follicles. Cumulus cells expressed high levels of SOD3, some SOD2, but no detectable SOD1. Our studies provide a temporal and spatial expression profile of the three SOD isoforms in the different compartments of the developing bovine antral follicles. These results lay the ground for future investigations into the potential regulation and roles of antioxidants during folliculogenesis and oogenesis.

scholarly journals I remember it like it was yesterday: Age-related changes in the subjective experience of remembering the past

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Folville ◽  
Jon Simons ◽  
Arnaud D'Argembeau ◽  
Christine Bastin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

It has been frequently described that older adults subjectively report the vividness of their memories as being as high, or even higher, than young adults, despite poorer objective memory performance and/or lower activity in the associated brain regions. Here, we review studies that examined age-related changes in the cognitive and neural basis of the subjective experience of remembering. Together, these studies reveal that older adults assign subjective memory ratings that are as high or higher than young adults but rely on retrieved memory details to a lesser extent. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying this observation. Overestimation of subjective ratings may stem from metamemory changes, psycho-social factors or methodological issues. As for poorer calibration of the ratings, this may be explained by the fact that older adults rely on/weight other types of information (conceptual knowledge, personal memories, and socioemotional or gist aspects of the memory trace) to a greater extent than young adults when judging the subjective vividness of their memories. We further highlight that a desirable avenue for future research would be to investigate how subjective ratings follow the richness of the corresponding mental representations in other cognitive operations than episodic memory and in other populations than healthy older adults. Finally, we recommend that future studies explore the bases of the subjective sense of remembering across the lifespan while considering recent accounts focusing both on individual and collective/shared aspects of recollection.

scholarly journals Vascular Illness, Cognition, and Subjective Aging: Examining the Vascular Hypothesis of Aging

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 709-709
Author(s):  
Victoria Dunsmore ◽  
Shevaun Neupert
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Varicose Veins ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract Cognition relates longitudinally and cross-sectionally to physical and psychological health among older adults. The Vascular Hypothesis of Aging (Drewelies & Gerstorf, 2020) suggests that illnesses of a vascular nature (e.g., stroke, hypertension, severe varicose veins) negatively affect cognitive abilities. Awareness of age-related change (AARC) is also related to cognition. What is not known is whether the presence of a vascular illness and daily cognitive abilities interact to predict daily awareness of age-related changes. The purpose of this study is to examine the daily fluctuations of cognition, (i.e., memory failures) and their interaction with vascular illness to predict daily awareness of age-related changes. Data were analyzed from 104 participants (M age = 64.67, 60-90 years) who completed online self-report questionnaires. On Day 1, participants answered baseline questionnaires regarding presence of vascular illness, and on Days 2-9 completed measures regarding AARC losses and memory failures. Multilevel models revealed main effects of daily memory failures on awareness of age-related losses, such that on days with more memory failures, older adults reported more age-related losses. We also found a main effect for vascular illness, such that those with a vascular illness reported higher levels of daily age-related losses. We did not find a significant interaction between vascular illness and daily memory failures on daily reported age-related losses. Our results provide preliminary evidence that the vascular hypothesis of aging may also extend to perceptions of age-related changes. Future research could consider examining daily symptoms of vascular illness as they unfold over time.

scholarly journals When the “Golden Years” turn blue

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Green ◽  
Joshua C. Magee ◽  
Amanda R.W. Steiner ◽  
Bethany A. Teachman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pathological Anxiety ◽  
Age Related Changes

Current treatments for disorders of emotion, such as pathological anxiety, are often less effective in older adults than in younger adults and have poorly understood mechanisms, pointing to the need for psychopathology models that better account for age-related changes in normative emotional functioning and the expression of disordered emotion. This article describes ways in which the healthy aging and emotion literature can enhance understanding and treatment of symptoms of anxiety and depression in later life. We offer recommendations on how to integrate the theories and findings of healthy aging literature with psychopathology research and clinical practice and highlight opportunities for future research.

scholarly journals Moral Reasoning Enables Developmental and Societal Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162096407
Author(s):  
Melanie Killen ◽  
Audun Dahl
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Age Related Changes

Moral reasoning is an essential part of how humans develop and a fundamental aspect of how human societies change over time. On a developmental timescale, reasoning about interpersonal disagreements and dilemmas spurs age-related changes in moral judgments from childhood to adulthood. When asked to distribute resources among others, even young children strive to balance competing concerns with equality, merit, and need. Over the course of development, reasoning and judgments about resource distribution and other moral issues become increasingly sophisticated. From childhood to adulthood, individuals not only evaluate acts as right or wrong but also take the extra steps to rectify inequalities, protest unfair norms, and resist stereotypic expectations about others. The development of moral reasoning also enables change on a societal timescale. Across centuries and communities, ordinary individuals have called for societal change based on moral concerns with welfare, rights, fairness, and justice. Individuals have effectively employed reasoning to identify and challenge injustices. In this article, we synthesize recent insights from developmental science about the roles of moral reasoning in developmental and societal change. In the concluding section, we turn to questions for future research on moral reasoning and change.

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