The influence of the gut microbiome on ovarian aging

ABSTRACT

Ovarian aging occurs prior to the aging of other organ systems and acts as the pacemaker of the aging process of multiple organs. As life expectancy has increased, preventing ovarian aging has become an essential goal for promoting extended reproductive function and improving bone and genitourinary conditions related to ovarian aging in women. An improved understanding of ovarian aging may ultimately provide tools for the prediction and mitigation of this process. Recent studies have suggested a connection between ovarian aging and the gut microbiota, and alterations in the composition and functional profile of the gut microbiota have profound consequences on ovarian function. The interaction between the gut microbiota and the ovaries is bidirectional. In this review, we examine current knowledge on ovary-gut microbiota crosstalk and further discuss the potential role of gut microbiota in anti-aging interventions. Microbiota-based manipulation is an appealing approach that may offer new therapeutic strategies to delay or reverse ovarian aging.

KEYWORDS:

• Ovarian aging
• menopause
• premature ovarian insufficiency
• gut microbiome
• fecal microbiota transplantation
• anti-ovarian aging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by (1) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81871141 and 82201781); (2) the National High-Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding (2022-PUMCH-B-123); (3) the National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFC1004801); and (4) the CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS) (2020-I2M-CT-B-040).