title: Reproductive aging: insights from model organisms.
abstract: Aging was once thought to be the result of a general deterioration of tissues as opposed to their being under regulatory control. However, investigations in a number of model organisms have illustrated that aspects of aging are controlled by genetic mechanisms and are potentially manipulable, suggesting the possibility of treatment for age-related disorders. Reproductive decline is one aspect of aging. In model organisms and humans of both sexes, increasing age is associated with both a decline in the number of progeny and an increased incidence of defects. The cellular mechanisms of reproductive aging are not well understood, although a number of factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic to an organism's germline, may contribute to aging phenotypes. Recent work in a variety of organisms suggests that nuclear organization and nuclear envelope proteins may play a role in these processes.
authors: Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
authors: Alice L
authors: AL
authors: Ye
authors: Needhi
authors: N
authors: Bhalla
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D004194:Disease; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D023421:Models, Animal; D034881:Nuclear Lamina / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*