Ovary-Softening Drug Doubles Conception in Older Rats
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- Shixuan Wang and colleagues at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan found that the protein interleukin-11 increases in human ovaries with age, activating collagen-producing fibroblasts that drive tissue stiffness.
- Mice genetically modified to be unable to respond to interleukin-11 had less ovarian stiffness as they aged and ovulated more than unmodified controls.
- The team's experimental drug, which blocks interleukin-11 production, was injected into 36-week-old mice — roughly equivalent to a person in their late 30s or early 40s — twice weekly for four weeks, reducing ovarian stiffness by 36%.
- Treatment outcomes in mice doubled conception rates from 25% to 50% and raised average litter size from three to five pups; in similarly aged rats, conception rose from 20% to 50% and litter size increased fivefold (from one to five pups).
- Francesca Duncan at Northwestern University cautioned that the human ovarian data came from women with a history of gynecological cancer, making it unclear whether the same age-related trend applies to women without such conditions, and warned that interleukin-11 is expressed throughout the body, creating a safety risk.
- Barbara Vanderhyden at the University of Ottawa said preserving ovarian function could also delay menopause-related health impacts such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
- The research team plans to develop a method that delivers the drug more directly to the ovaries before any human trials can begin.
Why it matters: Women in countries like England and Wales are increasingly having children later in life, and this study identifies ovarian stiffness driven by interleukin-11 as a drug-targetable mechanism behind age-related fertility decline — but safety questions are acute, since IL-11 is expressed throughout the body and no human trials have begun.
