Gene Expression In Women Conceiving Spontaneously Over The Age Of 45 Years

Objective: To examine gene expression profiles of women conceiving spontaneously after the age of 45.Design: Expression profiling by complementary DNA microarray analysis.Setting: University departments.Patient(S): Eight women 45 years or older (study group) who conceived spontaneously and were 6 months after their last delivery were compared with six women aged 45 years old (control group) who had their last delivery before the age of 30.Intervention(S): Blood samples were collected from each woman for RNA isolation from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).Main Outcome Measure(g): Expression profiles of PBMC isolated from each woman were determined by using Affymetrix DNA microarray analysis covering about 15,000 identified genes.Result(s): Microarray of global gene expression revealed 671 genes that showed statistically significant differential expression between the study and control groups: 383 genes were overexpressed and 288 were underexpressed. The most significant functional groups defining these genes were: apoptosis, ubiquitination, and energy production. As many as 60 genes also participated in ovarian physiology.Conclusion(s): These observations suggest that extended fertility is associated with a unique ability to enrich cellular processes, leading to delayed ovarian senescence. (Fertil Steril (R) 2008;89:1641-50. (c) 2008 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.).