南湖新闻网讯（通讯员 陈振夏 王丹阳）近日，我校生命科学技术学院、生物医学与健康学院精准营养与代谢团队陈振夏课题组在国际学术期刊Science China Life Sciences在线发表题为“Whole-grain black rice diet rewires the single-cell transcriptomic landscape of age-related ovarian decline in mice”的论文。

卵巢衰老是影响女性生育力和机体健康的重要生物学过程，伴随着卵泡储备减少、激素水平紊乱以及卵巢微环境退化。随着生育年龄推迟，卵巢功能下降已成为女性健康领域亟需关注的公共健康问题。相比药物或激素干预，安全、可长期坚持的膳食策略被认为更具临床转化潜力。

在本研究中，研究团队以全谷黑米作为膳食干预因子，构建了长期饲喂的小鼠模型，并以精制白米饮食作为对照。通过系统的生殖表型分析、激素检测以及单细胞转录组测序，研究人员发现：与对照组相比，黑米饮食能够显著改善中年小鼠的卵巢结构与功能，提高卵泡数量与质量，恢复雌激素和抗缪勒管激素水平，并显著提升生育能力。

在机制层面，单细胞转录组分析显示，黑米饮食能够显著重塑衰老卵巢的细胞组成与转录特征。其中，颗粒细胞是对黑米饮食反应最为显著的关键靶细胞类型。黑米饮食通过促进颗粒细胞增殖、改善细胞周期进程、降低DNA损伤和氧化应激水平，从而维持卵泡的正常发育和激素合成能力。同时，黑米饮食还能够抑制卵巢间质细胞的纤维化进程，减少胶原沉积，并增强卵巢巨噬细胞的吞噬功能，降低炎症因子水平，从多细胞、多通路层面共同改善卵巢微环境。

研究结果表明，全谷黑米作为一种富含花青素、膳食纤维和多种生物活性成分的天然主食，通过协同调控卵巢内多种细胞类型的衰老相关通路，实现了对卵巢功能衰退的系统性干预。与单一活性成分或药物干预相比，这种基于日常饮食的营养策略具有更高的安全性和可持续性。该研究为理解膳食结构与女性生殖衰老之间的关系提供了新的单细胞证据，也为开发以全谷物为基础的功能性食品、延缓女性生殖衰老和促进健康老龄化提供了重要科学依据。

图1 全谷物黑米饮食通过调控颗粒细胞、间质细胞和免疫细胞功能延缓卵巢衰老

华中农业大学生命科学技术学院涂懿璇博士后（已出站）、王丹阳博士后、马俊博士生为该文并列第一作者，陈振夏教授、王玲副研究员与武汉大学人民医院尹太郎教授为该文的通讯作者。该研究得到国家自然科学基金、国家重点研发计划、湖北省洪山实验室基金、中国博士后科学基金面上项目以及湖北省博士后创新人才培养项目等资助。

论文链接：https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11427-025-3046-4

英文摘要：Ovarian aging is closely associated with declining female fertility and overall health, yet effective and sustainable interventions remain limited. Whole-grain foods rich in bioactive compounds have been linked to healthy aging, but their role in reproductive aging is poorly understood. This study investigates the protective effects of a whole-grain black rice diet (BRD), enriched in anthocyanins and dietary fiber, on age-related ovarian decline.

Using a long-term dietary intervention in mice, we demonstrate that BRD markedly improves ovarian structure and function compared with a polished rice control diet. BRD-fed mice exhibited increased follicle quantity and quality, restored estrogen and anti-Müllerian hormone levels, and enhanced fertility. Single-cell RNA sequencing further revealed that BRD reshapes the cellular and transcriptional landscape of the aging ovary. Granulosa cells were identified as the primary responsive cell type, showing improved cell cycle progression, reduced DNA damage, and lower oxidative stress. In addition, BRD alleviated ovarian fibrosis by suppressing collagen deposition in stromal cells and improved immune homeostasis by enhancing macrophage phagocytic function while reducing inflammatory signaling.

In summary, these findings suggest that a whole-grain black rice diet delays ovarian aging through coordinated multicellular regulation. This work highlights the potential of black rice as a safe, diet-based strategy for preserving ovarian function and promoting female reproductive health.

审核人：陈振夏