The Potential Protective Role of Mitochondrial Haplogroup R in Ovarian Response: An Exploratory Study

An investigation of the mtDNA haplogroup in 96 Taiwanese women with diminished ovarian response (DOR) and normal ovarian response (NOR) showed that only the haplogroup R is less likely to experience DOR than other mtDNA haplogroups. When analyzing the relationship between age and mitochondria-related markers (mtDNA copy number, ROS levels, and telomere length), it was observed that ROS levels and telomere length exhibited age-dependent changes, and the number of retrieved oocytes decreased with age. However, in the R haplogroup, these mitochondria-related markers remained stable and did not show significant changes with age. Additionally, in the R haplogroup, the number of oocytes did not decline with age, suggesting a unique protective effect associated with this haplogroup. Our study supports the notion that the mtDNA haplogroup may serve as a biomarker for infertility in Taiwanese women.