Aging is linked to weaker metabolic support for mouse eggs
Laboratory experiments traced shared production of a metabolic molecule between mouse eggs and surrounding cells, a partnership that deteriorated with reproductive aging.
Limit: Egg development and fertility outcomes were not reported alongside the metabolic measurements
Stake: Bristol Myers Squibb funded the study.
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In experiments with mouse egg cells and the cumulus cells surrounding them, researchers investigated shared production of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a molecule involved in metabolism. They used molecular labels to trace its production. The cells’ cooperation deteriorated with reproductive aging. The researchers also found altered metabolism of the molecule in cumulus cells from mice and women of advancing reproductive age.
In aged mouse eggs kept together with their surrounding cells, adding nicotinamide mononucleotide, a raw material for making the molecule, increased glutathione, an antioxidant, and reduced reactive oxygen species, chemically reactive molecules. It also improved the electrical gradient across mitochondria, the cells’ energy-producing structures. The ability of supplementation to resolve elevated reactive oxygen species depended on the surrounding cells.
Why it matters
The age-related decline in this metabolic molecule in egg cells is associated with a lower capacity for development and female infertility.
Caveats
The supplementation findings came from mouse egg–support-cell complexes; the human findings were observational and concerned surrounding cells. The preprint has not been peer-reviewed.
- Nicotinamide mononucleotide
- Cellular homeostasis
- NAD+ metabolism
- Glutathione
- Reactive oxygen species
- Mice
Nicotinamide mononucleotide is part of David Sinclair's daily regimen in LifespanMore supplements
The paper
Aging disrupts cumulus–oocyte NAD⁺ homeostasis
UNSW Sydney
bioRxiv, Jul 23, 2026, Open access, CC BY-NC-ND, Preprint, not peer-reviewed
