title: Melatonin improves age-induced fertility decline and attenuates ovarian mitochondrial oxidative stress in mice.
abstract: Increasing evidence shows that melatonin protected against age-related mitochondrial oxidative damage. However, the protective effects of melatonin against ovarian aging has not been explored. Young Kunming females (aged 2-3 months) were fed with melatonin added to drinking water for 6 or 12 months (mo). We found that long-term (12 mo) melatonin treatment significantly reduced ovarian aging, as indicated by substantial increases in litter size, pool of follicles, and telomere length as well as oocyte quantity and quality. Melatonin treatment suppressed ovarian mitochondrial oxidative damage by decreasing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) generation, inhibiting apoptosis, repressing collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and preserving respiratory chain complex activities. Female mice fed with melatonin had enhanced mitochondrial antioxidant activities, thus reducing the risk of mitochondrial oxidative damage cause by free radicals. Notably, melatonin treatment enhanced SIRT3 activity but not the protein expression level, and increased the binding affinity of FoxO3a to the promoters of both superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and catalase (CAT). In conclusion, melatonin exerted protection against aging-induced fertility decline and maintenance of mitochondrial redox balance.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Songna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Jiamin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Jingcheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Tingchao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.|Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000071316:Forkhead Box Protein O3 / Q000378:metabolism; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects; D010053:Ovary / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D056566:Sirtuin 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D000099156:Superoxide Dismutase 2
chemical_list: D002374:Catalase; D000071316:Forkhead Box Protein O3; D008550:Melatonin; D056566:Sirtuin 3; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D000099156:Superoxide Dismutase 2; C474033:FoxO3 protein, mouse; C525046:Sirt3 protein, mouse