OBJECTIVE: To examine gene expression profiles of women conceiving spontaneously after the age of 45. DESIGN: Expression profiling by complementary DNA microarray analysis. SETTING: University departments. PATIENT(S): Eight women 45 years or older (study group) who conceived spontaneously and were 6 months after their last delivery were compared with six women aged 45 years old (control group) who had their last delivery before the age of 30. INTERVENTION(S): Blood samples were collected from each woman for RNA isolation from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression profiles of PBMC isolated from each woman were determined by using Affymetrix DNA microarray analysis covering about 15,000 identified genes. RESULT(S): Microarray of global gene expression revealed 671 genes that showed statistically significant differential expression between the study and control groups: 383 genes were overexpressed and 288 were underexpressed. The most significant functional groups defining these genes were: apoptosis, ubiquitination, and energy production. As many as 60 genes also participated in ovarian physiology. CONCLUSION(S): These observations suggest that extended fertility is associated with a unique ability to enrich cellular processes, leading to delayed ovarian senescence.
OBJECTIVE: To examine gene expression profiles of women conceiving spontaneously after the age of 45. DESIGN: Expression profiling by complementary DNA microarray analysis. SETTING: University departments. PATIENT(S): Eight women 45 years or older (study group) who conceived spontaneously and were 6 months after their last delivery were compared with six women aged 45 years old (control group) who had their last delivery before the age of 30. INTERVENTION(S): Blood samples were collected from each woman for RNA isolation from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression profiles of PBMC isolated from each woman were determined by using Affymetrix DNA microarray analysis covering about 15,000 identified genes. RESULT(S): Microarray of global gene expression revealed 671 genes that showed statistically significant differential expression between the study and control groups: 383 genes were overexpressed and 288 were underexpressed. The most significant functional groups defining these genes were: apoptosis, ubiquitination, and energy production. As many as 60 genes also participated in ovarian physiology. CONCLUSION(S): These observations suggest that extended fertility is associated with a unique ability to enrich cellular processes, leading to delayed ovarian senescence.
Authors: Roberto Romero; Shali Mazaki-Tovi; Edi Vaisbuch; Juan Pedro Kusanovic; Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa; Ricardo Gomez; Jyh Kae Nien; Bo Hyun Yoon; Moshe Mazor; Jingqin Luo; David Banks; John Ryals; Chris Beecher Journal: J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med Date: 2010-05-26