Abstract
The absence of peroxisomes can cause disease in the human reproductive system, including the ovaries. The available peroxisomal gene-knockout female mouse models, which exhibit pathological changes in the ovary and reduced fertility, are listed in this review. Our review article provides the first systematic presentation of peroxisomal regulation and its possible functions in the ovary. Our immunofluorescence results reveal that peroxisomes are present in all cell types in the ovary; however, peroxisomes exhibit different numerical abundances and strong heterogeneity in their protein composition among distinct ovarian cell types. The peroxisomal compartment is strongly altered during follicular development and during oocyte maturation, which suggests that peroxisomes play protective roles in oocytes against oxidative stress and lipotoxicity during ovulation and in the survival of oocytes before conception. In addition, the peroxisomal compartment is involved in steroid synthesis, and peroxisomal dysfunction leads to disorder in the sexual hormone production process. However, an understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these physiological and pathological processes is lacking. To date, no effective treatment for peroxisome-related disease has been developed, and only supportive methods are available. Thus, further investigation is needed to resolve peroxisome deficiency in the ovary and eventually promote female fertility.
Highlights
Peroxisomes, which are ubiquitous cell organelles located in a variety of tissues and organs, participate in many critical metabolic functions in humans, such as lipid metabolism, oxidative metabolic reactions, and cholesterol and plasmalogen synthesis
Afterwards, fatty acid β-oxidation occurs via four steps in peroxisomes: (1) oxidation, acylCoA is first desaturated to 2-trans-enoyl-CoA via a reaction catalysed by acyl-CoA oxidases (ACOX); (2) hydration, enoyl-CoA is converted to 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA; (3) dehydrogenation, the hydroxyacyl intermediate is dehydrogenated to a 3-ketoacyl-CoA; and (4) thiolytic cleavage, with the help of thiolase and sterol carrier proteins (SCPx), acetyl-CoA is released together with acyl-CoA, which is two carbon atoms shorter than the original acyl-CoA, and enters the round of β-oxidation [15–17]
The correct progression through the oestrus cycle is timed by the concerted action of gonadotropic hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and human chorionic gonadotropin, which are produced in the pituitary gland and placenta
Summary
Peroxisomes, which are ubiquitous cell organelles located in a variety of tissues and organs, participate in many critical metabolic functions in humans, such as lipid metabolism, oxidative metabolic reactions, and cholesterol and plasmalogen synthesis. Male and female patients with ZS exhibit cryptorchism and clitoromegaly, respectively, which means that the testis might be misplaced and underdeveloped in boys and that the size of the clitoris is markedly larger in girls [11, 12]. This fact suggests that peroxisomal deficiency causes problems in genital organ development and in the oestrogen-androgen balance. There is little information regarding peroxisomal function in the female reproductive system, in the ovary Both the reactive oxygen species (ROS) balance and lipid metabolism are very important for oocyte maturation, ovulation, fertilization, and embryo development. Our review provides the first description and summary of all the current findings related to the roles of peroxisomes in the ovary, and further research is needed for treating diseases of the female reproductive system and enhancing fertility caused by peroxisomal deletion or dysfunction
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