Do endometrial immune changes with age prior to menopause compromise fertility in women?

Abstract

Menopause signals the end of the reproductive period in women. However, fertility and fecundity decrease with increasing age prior to menopause demonstrating that changes in the premenopausal female reproductive tract (FRT) are already occurring that negatively impact reproductive success. The effects of age on the endometrium are poorly understood, in contrast to the ovary where changes occur with increasing age that negatively affect successful reproduction. The endometrial immune system is essential for generating a receptive endometrium, but the link between the immune and reproductive systems in the endometrium in the years prior to menopause has not been well-defined. Since the endometrial immune system is tightly regulated to maximize reproductive success and pathogen protection, changes in immune function with increasing premenopausal age have the potential to impact reproduction.

Keywords

• endometrium
• aging
• immunity
• reproduction
• implantation
• epithelial cells
• cd8+ t cells
• menopause