Metformin prevents age-associated ovarian fibrosis by modulating the immune landscape in female mice.

Abstract

Ovarian fibrosis is a pathological condition associated with aging and is responsible for a variety of ovarian dysfunctions. Given the known contributions of tissue fibrosis to tumorigenesis, it is anticipated that ovarian fibrosis may contribute to ovarian cancer risk. We recently reported that diabetic postmenopausal women using metformin had ovarian collagen abundance and organization that were similar to premenopausal ovaries from nondiabetic women. In this study, we investigated the effects of aging and metformin on mouse ovarian fibrosis at a single-cell level. We discovered that metformin treatment prevented age-associated ovarian fibrosis by modulating the proportion of fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, and immune cells. Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP)-producing fibroblasts increased in aged ovaries, and a unique metformin-responsive subpopulation of macrophages emerged in aged mice treated with metformin. The results demonstrate that metformin can modulate specific populations of immune cells and fibroblasts to prevent age-associated ovarian fibrosis and offers a new strategy to prevent ovarian fibrosis.