ReviewFertility and sterility2013
Telomeres and human reproduction.
Review in Fertility and sterility, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- An Updated Understanding of Human Embryonic Fragmentation.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2026Pooled it
- Age-associated changes in cumulus cells and follicular fluid: the local oocyte microenvironment as a determinant of gamete quality.Biology of reproduction · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of aging on the male reproductive system.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2016Pooled it
- Cellular Senescence and Aging: Mechanisms, Disease Convergence, and Therapeutic Frontiers.MedComm · 2026Review
- Improvement of fertility in female mice by treatment with novel telomerase-increasing compounds.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2026Article
- Protein levels of p-mTOR and p-RPS6 in cumulus cells serve as non-invasive biomarkers for embryo quality and pregnancy outcome in IVF.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- LINE-1 Methylation sustains telomere length in pregnant women: effects on pregnancy failure.Clinical epigenetics · 2025Article
- Impact of Maternal Age on the Repairing Capacity of Oocytes on Paternal DNA Damage.Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2025Article
- Endometrial Aging and Reproductive Decline: The Central Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Reduced reproductive potential in young healthy women with hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer syndrome.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Dietary exposure to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate for 6 months alters markers of female reproductive aging in mice†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
- Idiopathic male infertility - what are we missing?Arab journal of urology · 2025Article
- Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study.BMC medicine · 2024Article
- Impact of Real-life Environmental Exposures on Reproduction: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, reproductive aging, and menopause.Reproduction (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- Ethnic-specific genetic susceptibility loci for endometriosis in Taiwanese-Han population: a genome-wide association study.Journal of human genetics · 2024Article
- Stem cell-based therapeutic potential in female ovarian aging and infertility.Journal of ovarian research · 2024Review
- Telomeres and SIRT1 as Biomarkers of Gamete Oxidative Stress, Fertility, and Potential IVF Outcome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study.Research square · 2024Article
- Chromosome ends and the theory of marginotomy: implications for reproduction.Biogerontology · 2024Review
- Reduced SIRT1 and SIRT3 and Lower Antioxidant Capacity of Seminal Plasma Is Associated with Shorter Sperm Telomere Length in Oligospermic Men.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Telomeres mediate biologic aging in organisms as diverse as plants, yeast, and mammals. We propose a telomere theory of reproductive aging that posits telomere shortening in the female germ line as the primary driver of reproductive aging in women. Experimental shortening of telomeres in mice, which normally do not exhibit appreciable oocyte aging, and which have exceptionally long telomeres, recapitulates the aging phenotype of human oocytes. Telomere shortening in mice reduces synapsis and chiasmata, increases embryo fragmentation, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, spindle dysmorphologies, and chromosome abnormalities. Telomeres are shorter in the oocytes from women undergoing in vitro fertilization, who then produce fragmented, aneuploid embryos that fail to implant. In contrast, the testes are replete with spermatogonia that can rejuvenate telomere reserves throughout the life of the man by expressing telomerase. Differences in telomere dynamics across the life span of men and women may have evolved because of the difference in the inherent risks of aging on reproduction between men and women. Additionally, growing evidence links altered telomere biology to endometriosis and gynecologic cancers, thus future studies should examine the role of telomeres in pathologies of the reproductive tract.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.