Irregular cycles linked to more aging signs in mouse ovaries
A comparison of seven 10.5-month-old mice linked irregular reproductive cycles to stronger molecular signs of aging in the ovaries.
Limit: The key comparison involved only seven mice: four irregular and three regular
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In virgin female C57BL/6 mice, researchers mapped ovarian gene activity at 4.5, 10.5 and 15.5 months of age. This cross-sectional animal study included five, seven and five mice in those age groups, respectively. Researchers monitored reproductive cycles daily for at least three weeks and measured gene activity in individual ovarian cells.
Among the 10.5-month-old mice, four had irregular cycles and three had regular cycles. Ovaries from irregularly cycling mice showed stronger features of aging and senescence, a state in which cells stop dividing. These included more variable gene activity, changes in genes involved in energy production and protein maintenance, and disrupted hormone-related activity in cells that support developing eggs. They also showed higher activity of genes linked to senescence and the substances senescent cells release.
Why it matters
Reproductive aging in mice involves cycles becoming irregular and eventually stopping. The atlas provides a resource for investigating the cellular processes underlying this transition.
Caveats
Cross-sectional comparisons cannot establish whether the molecular changes caused irregular cycles. The key comparison involved seven mice from one strain; it does not establish whether the same patterns occur in humans.
- Resources: datasets, atlases and tools
- Single-cell omics
- Cellular senescence
- Oxidative phosphorylation
- Estropause
- Mice
The paper
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
PNAS, Jul 21, 2026, Open access
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