New gene found to prolong female reproductive life
Science and Technology Daily (intern reporter Zhang Jiaxin) The age of female menopause is related to fertility and healthy aging, but reproductive aging has always been a problem that scientists are difficult to study.
Now, scientists have identified nearly 300 genetic variants that affect female reproductive lifespan.
In addition, in mice, they have successfully manipulated several key genes related to these mutations to extend their reproductive lifespan.
Research papers published in the recent issue of "Nature" have greatly improved our understanding of the reproductive aging process and helped us predict which women may enter menopause earlier than others.
Although human life expectancy has increased significantly in the past 150 years, the natural menopausal age of most women has remained around 50 years old.
All the eggs that a woman is born with will gradually disappear with age.
Once most of the eggs disappear, menopause will occur, but the actual natural fertility declines much earlier than menopause.
The study identified new genetic mutations related to reproductive life span in humans, and the number has increased from 56 to 290.
The research team analyzed data sets from hundreds of thousands of women in multiple studies, including the British Biobank and gene sequencing company 23andMe.
Although the vast majority are women of European ancestry, they also studied the data of nearly 80,000 women of East Asian descent and found that the results were roughly the same.
The research team found that many genes involved in reproductive life span are involved in the DNA repair process.
They also discovered that many of these genes are already active before birth, that is, before the ovaries are formed, and this is also the case throughout life.
It is worth noting that two cell cycle checkpoint pathway genes-CHEK1 and CHEK2, regulate various DNA repair processes.
Knockout of a CHEK2 gene to make it no longer functional, or overexpression of CHEK1 gene to enhance its activity, can extend the reproductive life of mice by about 25%.
This study also observed women who were born with a lack of active CHEK2 genes and found that they entered menopause on average 3.5 years later than women with normal active genes.
Studies have found that female mice with a higher CHEK1 gene lay more eggs at birth, have a longer time for natural exhaustion, and have a longer reproductive lifespan.
However, although CHEK2 has a similar effect and can keep the eggs alive for longer, knocking out the gene may cause the death of the eggs in adult mice.
Therefore, overexpression of CHEK1 gene is a better choice for prolonging reproductive life.
This research has shown that scientists can begin to predict which women may enter menopause earlier, making it difficult to conceive naturally. At the same time, because there are genetic mutations in humans, this research can also provide young women with fertility-related advice.