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Semin Reprod Med 2015; 33(06): 389-395
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1567823
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Telomeres and Female Reproductive Aging

Keri Horan Kalmbach
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York
,
Danielle Mota Fontes Antunes
2   Graduate Program in Pathology, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
,
Fabiana Kohlrausch
2   Graduate Program in Pathology, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
,
David Lawrence Keefe
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Publication Date:
02 December 2015 (online)

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Abstract

Reproductive aging involves declines both in oocyte number and developmental capacity. Declining oocyte number alone cannot explain the manifestations of reproductive aging in women. We have proposed the Telomere Theory of Reproductive Aging to explain the complex phenotype found in oocytes from older women. Telomeres are TTAGGG repeats and associated proteins, which form loops at the ends of chromosomes to provide structural and genomic stability. Studies in mice and women show that telomere shortening in oocytes provides a parsimonious explanation for the effects of reproductive aging on oocyte quality. Measurement of polar body telomere length may predict oocyte quality in women undergoing ART.

Keywords

fertility - telomeres - aging - polar body - genetics - In vitro fertilization
 

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