Abstract
Ovarian aging refers to the gradual decline of ovarian function with increasing physiological age, manifested as decreased ovarian reserve, elevated aging-related markers, and reduced oocyte quality. With a declining female fertility and a growing aging population, it is urgent to delay ovarian aging to maintain fertility and improve the life quality of women. Theaflavin 3, 3′-digallate (TF3) is a naturally bioactive polyphenol compound extracted from black tea, and its antioxidant properties play an important role in maintaining human health and delaying aging; however, the effects of TF3 on female reproduction and ovarian function are not yet clear. Here, we show that TF3 can preserve primordial follicle pool, partially restore the estrous cycle, and increase the offspring number of aged mice. Meanwhile, TF3 gavage increased the number of oocytes retrieved, decreased the level of reactive oxygen species, increased the level of glutathione, and decreased the abnormal rate of oocyte spindle after ovulation induction. Moreover, TF3 inhibited human granulosa cell apoptosis and improved their antioxidative stress ability. High-throughput sequencing and small-molecule-targeted pharmacological prediction show that TF3 affects multiple pathways and gene expression levels, mainly involved in reproductive and developmental processes. It may also affect cellular function by targeting mTOR to regulate the autophagic pathway, thereby delaying the process of ovarian aging. This study shows that TF3 can be used as a potential dietary supplement to protect ovary function from aging and thereby improving the life quality of advanced-age women.
Highlights
Ovarian aging is defined as a gradual decline in ovarian function with age
Studies have reported that oxidative stress damage caused by excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the ovary leads to impaired granulosa cell function and decreased oocyte quality, which causes reduced follicle number and quality as well as endocrine abnormalities, leading to ovarian aging [7]
At the end of treatment, estrous cycles were monitored for 14 consecutive days, and the results revealed that the estrous cycle of the old TF3 group increased compared with that of the old control group, it was still prolonged compared with the young control group (Figure 1(a))
Summary
Female fertility generally begins to decline after the age of 30 and declines more significantly after 35. The clinical manifestations of fertility decline include decreased ovarian reserve, female endocrine hormone disorders, and irregular menstrual cycles [2], which are mainly related to a series of ovarian function downregulation indicators such as increased secretion of aging inflammatory substances in the ovarian microenvironment, abnormal granulosa cell number and function, and decreased oocyte quality [3–5]. Studies have reported that oxidative stress damage caused by excessive accumulation of ROS in the ovary leads to impaired granulosa cell function and decreased oocyte quality, which causes reduced follicle number and quality as well as endocrine abnormalities, leading to ovarian aging [7]. In women undergoing in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET), the ROS content in both oocytes and granulosa cells is significantly
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