New insight into the role of macrophages in ovarian function and ovarian aging

Abstract

Macrophages (MΦs) are the most abundant leukocytes in mammalian ovaries that have heterogeneity and plasticity. A body of evidence has indicated that these cells are important in maintaining ovarian homeostasis and they play critical roles in ovarian physiological events, such as folliculogenesis, ovulation, corpus luteum formation and regression. As females age, ovarian tissue microenvironment is typified by chronic inflammation with exacerbated ovarian fibrosis. In response to specific danger signals within aged ovaries, macrophages polarize into different M1 or M2 phenotypes, and specialize in unique functions to participate in the ovarian aging process. In this review, we will focus on the physiologic roles of MΦs in normal ovarian functions. Furthermore, we will discuss the roles of MΦs in the process of ovarian senescence, as well as the novel techniques applied in this field.

Multiple treatments with human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells preserved the fertility and ovarian function of perimenopausal mice undergoing natural aging

“…Aging-related chronic inflammation contributes to fibrosis and reduces organ function [ 42 ]. Thus, we examined the expression levels of genes related to inflammation and fibrosis in the ovaries to determine whether ovarian fibrosis, which is associated with aging, is related to an inflammation-mediated response [ 17 , 43 – 45 ]. As shown in Fig.…”

Shear wave elastography to assess stiffness of the human ovary and other reproductive tissues across the reproductive lifespan in health and disease

“…The ovarian microenvironment in mammals undergoes dramatic age-related changes, becoming inflammatory, fibrotic, and stiff [ 11–23 ]. With age, mouse ovaries exhibit increased expression of pro-inflammatory molecules as well as the presence of a unique immune cell population associated with chronic inflammation [ 13 , 15 , 16 , 19 ]. Moreover, ovaries from reproductively old mice contain high levels of collagen I and III, are enriched in fibro-inflammatory proteins, and have reduced hyaluronan content [ 11 , 13 , 24 , 25 ] Many of these phenotypes are conserved in the human ovary as well [ 26 , 27 ].…”