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Age-associated alterations in the micromechanical properties of chromosomes in the mammalian egg

  • Gamete Biology
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The incidence of aneuploidy in eggs from women of advanced reproductive age can exceed 60 %, making the mammalian egg a unique model system to study the mechanisms of chromosome segregation errors.

Methods

Here we applied a novel biophysical chromosome stretching approach to quantify mechanical stiffness of meiotic chromosomes in the mammalian egg and then documented how these properties changed in a mouse model of physiologic reproductive aging.

Results

We found significant differences in chromosome micromechanics, and thus in higher order chromosome structure, coincident with advanced reproductive age, a time that is also unequivocally associated with an increase in egg aneuploidy.

Conclusions

These findings have important implications for both reproductive and cancer biology where aneuploidy plays a central role in aging related disease states.

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Fig. 1

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (U54HD041857 to TKW and U54HD076188, U54CA143869 and R01GM105847 to JFM) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) (MCB-1022117 and DMR-1206868 to JFM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Lurie 10-121, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Jessica E. Hornick, Francesca E. Duncan & Teresa K. Woodruff

  2. Center for Reproductive Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Jessica E. Hornick, Francesca E. Duncan & Teresa K. Woodruff

  3. Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Mingxuan Sun & John F. Marko

  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Ryo Kawamura & John F. Marko

  5. National Cancer Institute Physical Science and Oncology Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    John F. Marko

  6. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, 66103, USA

    Francesca E. Duncan

  7. QB3 Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Mingxuan Sun

  8. Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117542, Singapore

    Ryo Kawamura

Authors
  1. Jessica E. Hornick
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  2. Francesca E. Duncan
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  3. Mingxuan Sun
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  4. Ryo Kawamura
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  5. John F. Marko
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  6. Teresa K. Woodruff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Teresa K. Woodruff.

Additional information

Capsule Micromechanical properties were measured in chromosomes from the oocytes of young and old mice. Significant differences were seen in chromosomes from older mice, suggesting age-associated structural changes in chromosomes.

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Hornick, J.E., Duncan, F.E., Sun, M. et al. Age-associated alterations in the micromechanical properties of chromosomes in the mammalian egg. J Assist Reprod Genet 32, 765–769 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-015-0453-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-015-0453-y

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