1. Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing
- Author
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Ruth, Katherine S, Day, Felix R, Hussain, Jazib, Martínez-Marchal, Ana, Aiken, Catherine E, Azad, Ajuna, Thompson, Deborah J, Knoblochova, Lucie, Abe, Hironori, Tarry-Adkins, Jane L, Gonzalez, Javier Martin, Fontanillas, Pierre, Claringbould, Annique, Bakker, Olivier B, Sulem, Patrick, Walters, Robin G, Terao, Chikashi, Turon, Sandra, Horikoshi, Momoko, Lin, Kuang, Onland-Moret, N Charlotte, Sankar, Aditya, Hertz, Emil Peter Thrane, Timshel, Pascal N, Shukla, Vallari, Borup, Rehannah, Olsen, Kristina W, Aguilera, Paula, Ferrer-Roda, Mònica, Huang, Yan, Stankovic, Stasa, Timmers, Paul RHJ, Ahearn, Thomas U, Alizadeh, Behrooz Z, Naderi, Elnaz, Andrulis, Irene L, Arnold, Alice M, Aronson, Kristan J, Augustinsson, Annelie, Bandinelli, Stefania, Barbieri, Caterina M, Beaumont, Robin N, Becher, Heiko, Beckmann, Matthias W, Benonisdottir, Stefania, Bergmann, Sven, Bochud, Murielle, Boerwinkle, Eric, Bojesen, Stig E, Bolla, Manjeet K, Boomsma, Dorret I, Bowker, Nicholas, Brody, Jennifer A, Broer, Linda, Buring, Julie E, Campbell, Archie, Campbell, Harry, Castelao, Jose E, Catamo, Eulalia, Chanock, Stephen J, Chenevix-Trench, Georgia, Ciullo, Marina, Corre, Tanguy, Couch, Fergus J, Cox, Angela, Crisponi, Laura, Cross, Simon S, Cucca, Francesco, Czene, Kamila, Smith, George Davey, de Geus, Eco JCN, de Mutsert, Renée, De Vivo, Immaculata, Demerath, Ellen W, Dennis, Joe, Dunning, Alison M, Dwek, Miriam, Eriksson, Mikael, Esko, Tõnu, Fasching, Peter A, Faul, Jessica D, Ferrucci, Luigi, Franceschini, Nora, Frayling, Timothy M, Gago-Dominguez, Manuela, Mezzavilla, Massimo, García-Closas, Montserrat, Gieger, Christian, Giles, Graham G, Grallert, Harald, Gudbjartsson, Daniel F, Gudnason, Vilmundur, Guénel, Pascal, Haiman, Christopher A, Håkansson, Niclas, Hall, Per, Hayward, Caroline, He, Chunyan, He, Wei, and Heiss, Gerardo
- Subjects
Biological Sciences ,Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Genetics ,Contraception/Reproduction ,Estrogen ,Prevention ,Aging ,Infertility ,Women's Health ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,1.1 Normal biological development and functioning ,Good Health and Well Being ,Adult ,Alleles ,Animals ,Bone and Bones ,Checkpoint Kinase 1 ,Checkpoint Kinase 2 ,Diabetes Mellitus ,Type 2 ,Diet ,Europe ,Asia ,Eastern ,Female ,Fertility ,Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein ,Genetic Predisposition to Disease ,Genome-Wide Association Study ,Healthy Aging ,Humans ,Longevity ,Menopause ,Menopause ,Premature ,Mice ,Mice ,Inbred C57BL ,Middle Aged ,Ovary ,Primary Ovarian Insufficiency ,Uterus ,Biobank-based Integrative Omics Study (BIOS) Consortium ,eQTLGen Consortium ,Biobank Japan Project ,China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group ,kConFab Investigators ,LifeLines Cohort Study ,InterAct consortium ,23andMe Research Team ,General Science & Technology - Abstract
Reproductive longevity is essential for fertility and influences healthy ageing in women1,2, but insights into its underlying biological mechanisms and treatments to preserve it are limited. Here we identify 290 genetic determinants of ovarian ageing, assessed using normal variation in age at natural menopause (ANM) in about 200,000 women of European ancestry. These common alleles were associated with clinical extremes of ANM; women in the top 1% of genetic susceptibility have an equivalent risk of premature ovarian insufficiency to those carrying monogenic FMR1 premutations3. The identified loci implicate a broad range of DNA damage response (DDR) processes and include loss-of-function variants in key DDR-associated genes. Integration with experimental models demonstrates that these DDR processes act across the life-course to shape the ovarian reserve and its rate of depletion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that experimental manipulation of DDR pathways highlighted by human genetics increases fertility and extends reproductive life in mice. Causal inference analyses using the identified genetic variants indicate that extending reproductive life in women improves bone health and reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, but increases the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms that govern ovarian ageing, when they act, and how they might be targeted by therapeutic approaches to extend fertility and prevent disease.
- Published
- 2021