Drug Softens Ovaries, Doubles Conception in Older Rats
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Shixuan Wang at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan led the study showing an ovary-softening drug more than doubled conception rates in older rats and increased their litter size fivefold, from one pup to five.
- The team identified the protein interleukin-11 as rising with age in human ovaries, where it activates collagen-producing fibroblasts — pinpointing the mechanism behind age-related ovarian stiffening.
- In 36-week-old mice — roughly equivalent to humans in their late 30s or early 40s — the experimental drug reduced ovarian stiffness by 36%, doubled conception from 25% to 50%, and raised average litter size from three to five pups.
- Francesca Duncan of Northwestern University cautioned that the human interleukin-11 findings came from women with a history of gynaecological cancer, so it's unclear whether the same age-related trend holds in healthy ovaries.
- Barbara Vanderhyden at the University of Ottawa said the intervention could delay menopause-related health impacts such as osteoporosis and heart disease by prolonging ovarian function generally.
- Researchers flagged safety as a hurdle before human trials: interleukin-11 is expressed throughout the body, so the drug would need to be delivered more directly to the ovaries.
- The study was published in Nature Aging (DOI: 10.1038/s43587-026-01159-2).
Why it matters: The team must now refine drug delivery directly to the ovaries and confirm safety before human trials — a high bar given interleukin-11 is expressed in many tissues and the initial human data came from cancer patients. If validated in healthy women, the approach could give those in their late 30s and 40s a biological option to extend their reproductive window.
