Ovarian stiffness increases with age in the mammalian ovary and depends on collagen and hyaluronan matrices.

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis is a hallmark of aging tissues which often leads to altered architecture and function. The ovary is the first organ to show overt signs of aging, including increased fibrosis in the ovarian stroma. How this fibrosis affects ovarian biomechanics and the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Using instrumental indentation, we demonstrated a quantitative increase in ovarian stiffness, as evidenced by an increase in Young's modulus, when comparing ovaries from reproductively young (6-12 weeks) and old (14-17 months) mice. This ovarian stiffness was dependent on collagen because ex vivo enzyme-mediated collagen depletion in ovaries from reproductively old mice restored their collagen content and biomechanical properties to those of young controls. In addition to collagen, we also investig

SUBMITTER: Amargant F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7681059 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature