Project description:<p>Premature ovarian failure, or primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a phenotype of diminished or absent ovarian function occurring in 1-2% of reproductive aged women. Most cases occur spontaneously. Evaluation of the gametes in women with POI is difficult and invasive. Practitioners must often rely on indirect biomarkers of ovarian function and oocyte health, making it difficult to identify patients who may benefit from therapies allowing them to achieve pregnancy utilizing their own oocytes. This study will generate exome sequences from POI patients in an effort to elucidate the causes of unexplained POI and to better understand the normal processes of ovarian aging. A better understanding of the genetics of ovarian function may lead to new non-invasive tools for managing women's reproductive health, and direct better use of existing biomarkers in diagnosis, screening and predicting clinical outcomes. </p>
Project description:Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) and related infertility, early menopause, and endocrine disorders are major side effects in young female cancer patients undergoing cancer treatment. Current strategies preserving ovarian functions and fertility can be suboptimal due to concerns of feasibility, efficacy, or safety. Herein, we identify c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) as a pivotal factor regulating the DNA damage response (DDR) signaling in oocytes of primordial follicles in response to DNA-damaging chemotherapy. Using pharmacological inhibition of JNK and a mouse model with oocyte-specific deletion of JNK, together with bioinformatic, molecular, and computational approaches, we show that inhibition of oogenic JNK prevents chemotherapy-induced oocyte apoptosis and POI as well as preserve long-term reproductive cycles and fertility. Mechanistically, JNK is activated upon chemotherapy-induced DNA damage in oocytes of primordial follicles, which further activates the transcription factor TAp63α and triggers oocyte apoptosis. we further used a breast cancer mouse model to demonstrate that JNK inhibition preserves the ovarian reserve without interfering with the anti-cancer efficacy of chemotherapy. Together, our research establishes JNK as a crucial determinant of oocyte apoptosis and POI following DNA-damaging cancer therapy, highlighting JNK as a promising target for developing ovarian protectant and preserving the ovarian reserve, fertility, and ovarian endocrine functions in young female cancer patients.
Project description:Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a primary ovarian defect characterized by absent menarche (primary amenorrhea) or premature depletion of ovarian follicles before the age of 40 (secondary amenorrhea) with hypergonadotropism and hypoestrogenism. Premature ovarian insufficiency has few known genetic causes but in familial cases a genetic link is often suspected. A large consanguineous family with three female affected with POI was investigated. All samples including 3 affected and 5 unaffecd underwent whole genome SNP genotyping using Affymetric Axiom_GW_Hu_SNP array. Linkage analysis was carried out using HomozygosityMapper and Allegro softwares.Linkage analysis mapped the disease phenotype to long arm of chromosome 20. Sequence data analysis of potential candidate genes failed to detect any pathogenic variant.
Project description:Previous studies have suggested that adamts9 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type-1 motifs, member 9), an extracellular matrix (ECM) metalloprotease, participates in primordial germ cell (PGC) migration and necessary for female fertility. In this study, we found that adamts9 knockout (KO) led to reduced body size, and female to male sex conversion in adult mature zebrafish prior to or after 90 days post fertilization (dpf); however, primary sex determination was not affected in early juveniles of adamts9 KO at 35 dpf. Overfeeding and lowering the rearing density rescued growth defects in female adamts9 KO fish but did not rescue defects in ovarian development in adamts9 KO. Delayed PGC proliferation, significantly reduced number and size of Stage IB follicles (equivalent to primary follicle) in early juveniles of adamts9 KO, and arrested development at Stage IB follicles in mid- or late-juveniles of adamts9 KO are likely causes of female infertility and sex conversion. Via RNAseq, we found significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes involved in ECM organization during sexual maturation in ovaries of wildtype fish; and significant dysregulation of these genes in adamts9 KO ovaries. RNAseq analysis also showed enrichment of inflammatory transcriptomic signatures in adult ovaries of these adamts9 KO. Taken together, our results indicate that adamts9 is critical for development of primary ovarian follicles and maintenance of female sex in zebrafish, and loss of adamts9 in zebrafish leads to ovarian follicle arrest, female infertility, and sex conversion in late juveniles and mature adults.
Project description:Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is an early decline in ovarian function that leads to infertility. Conventional treatments for chemotherapy-induced POI are unsatisfactory. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a therapeutic option, but the impact of estrogen niche-respond MSC secretome on ovarian regeneration and circadian rhythm remains unknown. This study revealed that the secretome of ER+pcMSCs (conditioned medium [CM] and E2-CM, respectively) significantly reduced the CTX-induced defects in ovarian folliculogenesis and circadian rhythm. The CM/E2-CM also reduced granulosa cell apoptosis and rescued angiogenesis in POI ovarian tissues. E2-CM presented a better effect than the CM. Cytokine array analysis showed a significant increase in cytokine/growth factors associated with immunomodulation and angiogenesis (including angiogenin). Neutralizing angiogenin in the CM/E2-CM significantly decreased its ability to promote HUVEC tube formation in vitro. Importantly, the ER+pcMSC secretome restored the CTX-induced circadian rhythm defects, including the expression of both the genes and proteins associated with ovarian circadian clock (such as Rora, E4bp4, Rev-erbα, and Dbp) and the locomotor activity. Further exosomal miRNA analysis showed the involved miRNAs in targeting the genes associated with POI rescue (Pten and Pdcd4), Caspase-3, estrogen synthesis (Cyp19a1), and importantly the ovarian clock regulation (E4bp4, Rev-erbα and Rev-erbβ).
Project description:Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a primary ovarian defect characterized by absent menarche (primary amenorrhea) or premature depletion of ovarian follicles before the age of 40 (secondary amenorrhea) with hypergonadotropism and hypoestrogenism. Premature ovarian insufficiency has few known genetic causes but in familial cases a genetic link is often suspected. A large consanguineous family with three female affected with POI was investigated. All samples including 3 affected and 5 unaffecd underwent whole genome SNP genotyping using Affymetric Axiom_GW_Hu_SNP array. Linkage analysis was carried out using HomozygosityMapper and Allegro softwares.Linkage analysis mapped the disease phenotype to long arm of chromosome 20. Sequence data analysis of potential candidate genes failed to detect any pathogenic variant. Affymetrix SNP arrays were performed according to the manufacturer's directions on DNA extracted from peripheral blood samples. DNA of eight individuals including three affected subjects was used for homozygosity mapping. Genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix Axiom_GW_Hu_SNP array. Briefly, 250 ng genomic DNA was digested with Digestion Master Mix containing 2 µl NE buffer 2 (10X), 0.5 µl BSA (100X; 10 mg/ml) and 1 µl Nsp1. Digested DNA sample was ligated to Nsp1 adaptor using T4 DNA ligase and amplified by 2 µl of TITANIUM Taq DNA polymerase (50X) and 100 µM PCR primer. PCR products were purified on a Clean-Up plate (Clontech Lab, Madison, USA) and eluted by RB buffer. Purified PCR products were fragmented using Fragmentation Reagent (0.05U/µl DNase 1) for 35 minutes at 37°C followed by labeling of fragmented samples with Labeling Master Mix (30 mM GeneChip DNA Labeling Reagent, 30 U/µl Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase) for 4 hours at 37°C. Labeled samples were hybridized to Axiom_GW_Hu_SNP array by mixing the sample with Hybridization Master Mix, denatured on thermoblock and loaded on to Array. Array was then placed in a hybridization oven (GeneChip Hybridization Oven 640, USA) for 16-18 hours. After hybridization, array was washed and stained on an automated Fluidic Station 450 followed by scanning on GeneChip Scanner 3000 7G using GeneChip Operating Software (GCOS).
Project description:Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) refers to the loss of ovarian function under the age of 40 and results in amenorrhea and infertility. Our previous studies have shown that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and MSC-derived exosomes in chemotherapy-induced POI mouse ovaries can reverse the POI and eventually achieve pregnancy. Based on our recent studies, MSC-derived exosomes have almost equal therapeutic potentials as transplanted MSCs. However, it is still unclear whether exosomes can completely replace MSCs in POI treatment. In this study, we induced POI in C57/BL6 mice by chemotherapy (CXT) using a standard protocol. We compared the RNA expression pattern in ovarian tissue after MSC or exosome treatment. our data suggest that a minimal 10-fold increase, and ideally 100-fold increase, in the exosome concentration is required to generate more analogous results to MSC treatment.
Project description:<p>Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a disease featured by early menopause before 40 years of age, accompanied by an elevation of follicle-stimulating hormone. Though POI affects many aspects of women's health, its major causes remain unknown. Many clinical studies have shown that POI patients are generally underweight, indicating a potential correlation between POI and metabolic disorders. To understand the pathogenesis of POI, we performed metabolomics analysis on serum and identified branch-chain amino acid (BCAA) insufficiency-related metabolic disorders in two independent cohorts from two clinics. A low BCAA diet phenotypically reproduced the metabolic, endocrine, ovarian and reproductive changes of POI in young C57BL/6J mice. A mechanism study revealed that the BCAA insufficiency-induced POI is associated with abnormal activation of the ceramide-reactive oxygen species (ROS) axis and consequent impairment of ovarian granulosa cell function. Significantly, the dietary supplement of BCAA prevented the development of ROS-induced POI in female mice. The results of this pathogenic study will lead to the development of specific therapies for POI.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Untargeted lipidomics</strong> is reported in the current study <a href='https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS6249' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'><strong>MTBLS6249</strong></a>.</p><p><strong>Targeted metabolomics</strong> is reported in <a href='https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS6267' rel='noopener noreferrer' target='_blank'><strong>MTBLS6267</strong></a>.</p>