Orthotopic ovarian transplantations in young and aged C57BL/6J mice

Orthotopic ovarian transplantations were done between young (6-wk-old) and aged (17-mo-old) C57BL/6J mice. The percentages of mice mating following surgery from the four possible ovarian transfer combinations were as follows: young into young, 83%; young into aged, 46%; aged into young, 83%; and aged into aged, 36%. The percentages of these mice that were pregnant 10 days following the presence of a vaginal sperm plug were as follows: young into young, 58%; young into aged, 9%; aged into young, 50%; and aged into aged, 0%. Some of the fetuses derived from matings of the above mice were dissociated and their cells prepared for chromosomal smears. No evidence of aneuploidy or mosaicism was found in fetuses derived from ovaries of young or aged mice. Aged ovaries, transferred to either young or aged recipients, were found to have fewer developing follicles and lower weight, which was most apparent in recipients that failed to mate or to get pregnant. Concentrations of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and prolactin in plasma from each of the pregnant recipients were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The only statistical differences found between the transfer groups occurred in FSH concentrations. Plasma FSH was markedly elevated (P less than 0.005) in young recipients with ovaries transplanted from aged donors, in comparison to young recipients with ovaries from young donors. These data indicate that the aging ovary and uterus play a secondary role in reproductive failure and that the aging hypothalamic-hypophyseal complex is primarily responsible for the loss of fecundity in older female C57BL/6J mice.