Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging
Human female fertility and reproductive lifespan decrease significantly with age, resulting in an extended post-reproductive period. The central dogma in human female reproduction contains two important aspects. One is the pool of oocytes in the human ovary (the ovarian reserve; approximately 10<...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/5/2880 |
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| author | Marta Wasielak-Politowska Paweł Kordowitzki |
| author_facet | Marta Wasielak-Politowska Paweł Kordowitzki |
| author_sort | Marta Wasielak-Politowska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human female fertility and reproductive lifespan decrease significantly with age, resulting in an extended post-reproductive period. The central dogma in human female reproduction contains two important aspects. One is the pool of oocytes in the human ovary (the ovarian reserve; approximately 10<sup>6</sup> at birth), which diminishes throughout life until menopause around the age of 50 (approximately 10<sup>3</sup> oocytes) in women. The second is the quality of oocytes, including the correctness of meiotic divisions, among other factors. Notably, the increased rate of sub- and infertility, aneuploidy, miscarriages, and birth defects are associated with advanced maternal age, especially in women above 35 years of age. This postponement is also relevant for human evolution; decades ago, the female aging-related fertility drop was not as important as it is today because women were having their children at a younger age. Spindle assembly is crucial for chromosome segregation during each cell division and oocyte maturation, making it an important event for euploidy. Consequently, aberrations in this segregation process, especially during the first meiotic division in human eggs, can lead to implantation failure or spontaneous abortion. Today, human reproductive medicine is also facing a high prevalence of aneuploidy, even in young females. However, the shift in the reproductive phase of humans and the strong increase in errors make the problem much more dramatic at later stages of the female reproductive phase. Aneuploidy in human eggs could be the result of the non-disjunction of entire chromosomes or sister chromatids during oocyte meiosis, but partial or segmental aneuploidies are also relevant. In this review, we intend to describe the relevance of the spindle apparatus during oocyte maturation for proper chromosome segregation in the context of maternal aging and the female reproductive lifespan. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:35:35Z |
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| id | doaj.art-0aa61f00bf594b5a9cc30a2f7d55dc1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:35:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
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| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0aa61f00bf594b5a9cc30a2f7d55dc1c2023-11-23T23:11:10ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-03-01235288010.3390/ijms23052880Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during AgingMarta Wasielak-Politowska0Paweł Kordowitzki1Center of Gynecology, Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine–Artemida, Jagiellonska Street 78, 10-357 Olsztyn, PolandInstitute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of Polish Academy of Sciences, Tumiwa Street 10, 10-243 Olsztyn, PolandHuman female fertility and reproductive lifespan decrease significantly with age, resulting in an extended post-reproductive period. The central dogma in human female reproduction contains two important aspects. One is the pool of oocytes in the human ovary (the ovarian reserve; approximately 10<sup>6</sup> at birth), which diminishes throughout life until menopause around the age of 50 (approximately 10<sup>3</sup> oocytes) in women. The second is the quality of oocytes, including the correctness of meiotic divisions, among other factors. Notably, the increased rate of sub- and infertility, aneuploidy, miscarriages, and birth defects are associated with advanced maternal age, especially in women above 35 years of age. This postponement is also relevant for human evolution; decades ago, the female aging-related fertility drop was not as important as it is today because women were having their children at a younger age. Spindle assembly is crucial for chromosome segregation during each cell division and oocyte maturation, making it an important event for euploidy. Consequently, aberrations in this segregation process, especially during the first meiotic division in human eggs, can lead to implantation failure or spontaneous abortion. Today, human reproductive medicine is also facing a high prevalence of aneuploidy, even in young females. However, the shift in the reproductive phase of humans and the strong increase in errors make the problem much more dramatic at later stages of the female reproductive phase. Aneuploidy in human eggs could be the result of the non-disjunction of entire chromosomes or sister chromatids during oocyte meiosis, but partial or segmental aneuploidies are also relevant. In this review, we intend to describe the relevance of the spindle apparatus during oocyte maturation for proper chromosome segregation in the context of maternal aging and the female reproductive lifespan.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/5/2880spindle formationspindle assemblyeuploidyaneuploidyoocytesmaternal aging |
| spellingShingle | Marta Wasielak-Politowska Paweł Kordowitzki Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging International Journal of Molecular Sciences spindle formation spindle assembly euploidy aneuploidy oocytes maternal aging |
| title | Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging |
| title_full | Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging |
| title_fullStr | Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging |
| title_short | Chromosome Segregation in the Oocyte: What Goes Wrong during Aging |
| title_sort | chromosome segregation in the oocyte what goes wrong during aging |
| topic | spindle formation spindle assembly euploidy aneuploidy oocytes maternal aging |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/5/2880 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT martawasielakpolitowska chromosomesegregationintheoocytewhatgoeswrongduringaging AT pawełkordowitzki chromosomesegregationintheoocytewhatgoeswrongduringaging |