Cellular ‘cleanup' helps preserve eggs and female fertility

Autophagy is the body’s cellular recycling system. It is a natural process where cells destroy themselves in order to recycle old, damaged or abnormal parts. Autophagy plays a crucial role in protecting our cells from environmental damage.

Every day, our cells are bombarded with DNA-damaging agents, such as ultraviolet rays, radiation, toxins, and chemicals. These factors can cause harm to our cells to the extent that they cease to function effectively.

In females, this unrelenting attack can be catastrophic as it disrupts the quality of egg cells and may lead to infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and genetic diseases.

Autophagy and reproductive health

Identifying the significance of this protective mechanism, researchers at the University of Missouri investigated how autophagy influences reproductive health.

Ahmed Balboula is an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).

Professor Balboula and his team sought to establish how autophagy – often referred to as the unsung hero of cellular biology – impacts female fertility and the battle against DNA damage.

Autophagy: The cell’s superhero

Autophagy is a lesser-known but important process that assists in the maintenance of cellular health. The process involves the elimination of damaged cell parts, and the recycling of useful components, which helps maintaining cellular balance and function.

Autophagy is essential for stress response, energy balance, and the prevention of cell damage – including the maintenance of reproductive cells.

A natural defense system

One of the body’s natural defense mechanisms, autophagy helps keep biological systems operational. However, its role in female egg health is what piqued Professor Balboula’s interest.

The researchers found that, under circumstances of moderate to severe DNA damage (more common in older women), autophagy activity decreases in female eggs.

“When autophagy activity decreases in DNA-damaged eggs or in maternally aged eggs, which have moderate DNA damage, there is an increased risk for aneuploidy,” noted Balboula.

Aneuploidy refers to an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell. This disorder leads to genetic causes of miscarriage and congenital birth defects, including Down syndrome.

Autophagy to the rescue

The researchers didn’t just identify a problem; they also uncovered a potential solution.

They discovered that stimulating the process of autophagy in female eggs might improve not only the quality of these eggs but also reduce DNA damage and abnormal chromosome numbers.

Professor Balboula hopes that the findings could spark new research directions for enhancing female egg quality and, consequently improving reproductive health for both humans and animals.

“The deactivation of autophagy that we found is likely just one of many underlying mechanisms contributing to aneuploidy,” said Balboula. “Going forward, I will continue to explore other underlying mechanisms contributing to poor egg quality to ultimately further efforts to improve the quality of female eggs.”

Reproductive biology research

Professor Balboula, who moved from the University of Cambridge to Mizzou in 2019, was drawn by the university’s reputation as a powerhouse in reproductive biology research.

“I knew this was the place to enhance my career,” he said. “The collaborators, resources, and research infrastructure here at Mizzou, especially within CAFNR, the Division of Animal Sciences, and the NextGen Precision Health building, help us take our research to the next level, and we are just getting started.”

The research demonstrates how scientists are pushing the boundaries to improve our health, and offers a glimpse into what might be in store for the future of women’s reproductive health.

The future of fertility treatment

While Balboula and his colleagues have revealed a vital connection between autophagy and egg quality, this research is only the tip of the iceberg.

Understanding how cellular maintenance functions affect fertility might unlock new possibilities for novel treatments.

Can autophagy be used to boost reproductive health? Could this knowledge lead to age-related fertility loss-prevention breakthroughs?

With advancing technology, non-invasive treatments or dietary and lifestyle interventions to stimulate autophagy may soon become a reality.

In the meantime, Professor Balboula’s research is a promising leap toward enhancing fertility success, as well as our understanding of cellular resilience.

The full study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

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