Extremely Long Lived Proteins and Female Reproductive Aging
Description: PROJECT NARRATIVE Aging is associated with cellular and tissue deterioration and is a prime risk factor for chronic diseases and declining health, with the female reproductive system being the first to show overt manifestations of aging (i.e. decreased fertility, miscarriages, and birth defects). A key hallmark of aging in many tissues is loss of protein homeostasis or quality control mechanisms that protect the cellular proteome. Our research promises to open new avenues of discovery through the use of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry and imaging approaches to identify, visualize, and quantify a unique population of extremely long lived proteins in the oocyte and ovary that persist through the entire reproductive lifespan and likely fuel reproductive aging through accumulated damage.
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: R21
Start date: 2019-05-15
End date: 2022-04-30
Investigator: FRANCESCA E. DUNCAN
Institution: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO
Funded outputs count: 15
Funder award ID: R21HD098498
OpenAlex ID: G5117764942