Scientists have noted the ability of the ovaries to change after menopause
After menopause, the ovaries stop producing eggs, but this does not mean that all biological processes stop in their tissues. Scientists have found that with age, the ovaries continue to undergo molecular changes associated with inflammation and tissue restructuring. Some of these processes are also found in ovarian cancer, although there were no tumors in the samples studied. What happens to the ovaries after the end of the reproductive period is described in the Izvestia article.
The ovaries remain active after menopause
Researchers from Northwestern University and the Buck Institute for Aging Research studied the ovarian tissue of 28 women aged 50 to 75 years. The results are published in the journal Aging Cell. The researchers analyzed 5812 protein groups to determine how tissue composition changes in the first decades after menopause.
Previously, the ovaries were often considered as a practically inactive organ after the completion of their reproductive function. However, the study showed that their molecular composition continues to change. In the tissues of older women, there were more proteins associated with inflammation, the activity of the immune system and the restructuring of the surrounding cell environment. At the same time, the number of proteins involved in maintaining cells and tissue structure decreased.
Birgit Schilling, Professor and Director of the Center for Mass Spectrometry at the Lhc Institute for Aging Research
When we analyzed the data using various statistical methods, it became obvious that the ovary was not in a state of stagnation. Over the decades, quite significant changes have been taking place: the level of some proteins increases with age, while others decrease. This suggests that the organ is quite dynamic.
Inflammation and tissue remodeling increase with age
The researchers found the most noticeable differences when comparing samples of women aged 50-59 years and participants over 70 years old. Younger ovaries after menopause had more proteins associated with cell and tissue maintenance. The samples of the older participants showed stronger signs of inflammation and changes in tissue structure.
Scientists have also identified molecular signs similar to cellular aging. In this process, old or damaged cells stop dividing, but remain biologically active and can release substances that affect surrounding tissues.
Francesca Duncan, Associate Professor of Reproductive Medicine at Northwestern University
Our data point to signs of progressive aging: it seems that the ovary is losing its original function and starting to perform a different role.
What exactly these changes mean for women's health is still unknown. The study describes the differences in tissues, but does not allow us to determine which of them are harmful and which may be part of natural aging.
Age-related ovarian changes linked to molecular signs of cancer
Scientists have paid special attention to the link between ovarian aging and cancer. In previous work, Duncan's team found that with age, the tissues of the organ become more rigid, they increase inflammation and fibrosis, a process in which excess connective tissue forms, resembling scar tissue.
In a new study, levels of certain proteins that have previously been linked to ovarian cancer have increased in aging ovaries. At the same time, all the samples studied looked normal and did not contain signs of a tumor. The result indicates the similarity of individual molecular processes, but it does not mean that age-related changes are cancer in themselves or necessarily lead to its development.
Francesca Duncan
It's not that all women develop ovarian cancer after menopause. But we know that cancer cells prefer to develop in a fibroinflammatory environment.
The researchers suggest that the characteristics of aging tissue may be one of the factors influencing the conditions of tumor development. However, additional research will be needed to test this hypothesis.
How ovaries can affect health after menopause
Scientists believe that the role of the ovaries may not be limited to reproductive function. They interact with other organs, including the brain and bone tissue, which often deteriorates in women after menopause. Therefore, researchers suggest that age-related changes in the ovaries may be associated with broader body aging processes.
Birgit Schilling
The ovary is not just a reproductive organ. It really affects the aging process because it interacts with other organs such as the brain and bones. After menopause, women often have problems with bone tissue, so we assume that there is a connection between these processes.
At the same time, scientists do not yet know at what point changes in the ovaries become unfavorable to health and whether they can be safely affected. The work also does not provide grounds to recommend the removal of healthy ovaries after menopause or to claim that such an intervention will help prevent diseases. The authors emphasize that further research is needed to understand the effects of age-related changes.
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