Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2025

Cell-Specific Paired Interrogation of the Mouse Ovarian Epigenome and Transcriptome
Published on: February 24, 2023
DNA methylation as a window into female reproductive aging
Anna K Knight1, Jessica B Spencer2, Alicia K Smith1,2,3
1Research Division, Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
None:
People with ovaries experience reproductive aging as their reproductive function and system declines. This has significant implications for both fertility and long-term health, with people experiencing an increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders after menopause. Reproductive aging can be assessed through markers of ovarian reserve, response to fertility treatment or molecular biomarkers, including DNA methylation. Changes in DNA methylation with age associate with poorer reproductive outcomes, and epigenome-wide studies can provide insight into genes and pathways involved. DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks can quantify biological age in reproductive tissues and systemically. This review provides an overview of hallmarks and theories of aging in the context of the reproductive system, and then focuses on studies of DNA methylation in reproductive tissues.
Related Concept Videos
Epigenetic Regulation
Meiosis I
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
Oogenesis
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Nondisjunction

