Can we manipulate the ovary’s own metabolism to protect it from chemotherapy-induced damage?

Some chemotherapy treatments induce female infertility through accelerated ovarian ageing, including due to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) depletion. Using various mouse models, Ho et al (2024) demonstrate that exposure to two such chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin or doxorubicin, deplete ovarian NAD, with levels restored by administrating the exogenous NAD precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide, ameliorating the drugs’ damaging effects on fertility. Yes: A. Stefansdottir, A. Liugaila and N. Spears discuss the study from Ho et al, in this issue of EMBO Mol. Med., that shows that nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation ameliorates chemotherapy-induced female infertility without impairing treatment efficacy in breast cancer mouse models.