{"title":"Reproductive Fitness and the Links to Chronic Disease and Systemic Aging.","authors":"Arjuman Ghazi, Hannah Henry","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00013.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00013.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Female reproductive aging is the earliest manifestation of aging in humans, with fertility declining due to reduced oocyte quality well before menopause. Menopause marks the definitive end of reproductive potential and the onset of increased risk for multiple age-related, chronic diseases. Emerging evidence links reproductive disorders, from infertility to widespread gynecological conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, with elevated risks of premature morbidity and mortality. Indeed, it is increasingly evident that even normal reproductive transitions such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, act as physiological inflection points that shape long-term systemic health. Yet, fertility continues to be viewed primarily through the prism of procreation, with limited knowledge of the underlying biological mechanisms and scarce clinical focus on its broader health implications. Recent discoveries elucidating the genetic basis of reproductive traits combined with advances in our understanding of fundamental aging mechanisms offer a compelling framework to address these persistent knowledge gaps with far-reaching public-health consequences. This review synthesizes the current knowledge on how reproductive aging, normal reproductive phases and major reproductive dysfunctions influence long-term health trajectories and argues for a shift toward integrated, lifespan-based approaches to reproductive health in research and clinical care.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145338453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peculiarities of the mammalian oocyte cell cycle.","authors":"Benjamin Wetherall, Suzanne Madgwick","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00027.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00027.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Oocyte meiosis, the process of egg cell formation, requires a highly regulated cell cycle with many unique features compared to somatic cell division. On the journey to create a healthy embryo, this special cell carries a heavy responsibility and must navigate a remarkable number of complex challenges. Most oocytes will never complete this journey, less than 0.1% are ever ovulated, and fewer are viable. However, the few that do complete, manage by the execution of a series of extraordinary adaptations through two rounds of cell division. In this review we discuss some of these challenges and the adaptations that have evolved to mitigate them. This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the cell cycle in oocytes meiosis, but to highlight some of the differences between oocyte meiosis and a typical mitosis. We discuss features that make this cell unique and the cell cycle regulatory mechanisms that support them. A salute to the few that make it and those that are sacrificed along the way.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145338464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"BREATHING DURING EXERCISE: RESPIRATORY AND CIRCULATORY INTERACTIONS.","authors":"A William Sheel, Sarah A Angus","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00029.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00029.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Under conditions of exercise the heart and lungs are linked in important ways. First, both the heart and lungs are linked in series as pumps for O<sub>2</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> transport. Second they are mechanically linked owing to their location within the thorax. This means that changes in lung volume (and intrathoracic pressure) will influence cardiac filling and ejection. The respiratory muscles cyclically contract during exercise to allow for gas exchange. This ensures that the partial pressures of O<sub>2</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> in the blood are largely kept within narrow limits, while the heart and circulatory system ensures gas transport to and from the tissues. The increase in metabolic rate during exercise requires substantial increases in both cardiac output and ventilation, meaning that cardiopulmonary interactions become more pronounced. In this review we explore they physiological interactions between the respiratory system and circulatory systems by asking two inter-related questions. First, what are the mechanical interactions between the respiratory and circulatory systems? Second, what are the respiratory influences on sympathetic vasomotor outflow and blood flow distribution during exercise? We end with a summary of recent studies that have addressed questions of respiratory-circulatory interactions with respect to sex differences and cardiopulmonary disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145305252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenjun Xu, Xuan Wang, Yukun Gao, Qing Ma, Weida Li
{"title":"Zinc Transporters in diseases, including diabetes and related conditions.","authors":"Wenjun Xu, Xuan Wang, Yukun Gao, Qing Ma, Weida Li","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00026.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00026.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Zinc is an essential trace element that participates in a wide range of physiological processes. Cellular zinc homeostasis is tightly controlled by two families of transporters: the Zrt/Irt-like protein (ZIP/<i>SLC39</i>) family, which mediates zinc influx into the cytoplasm, and the zinc transporter (ZnT/<i>SLC30</i>) family, which facilitates zinc efflux or sequestration into intracellular organelles. Growing evidence implicates dysregulated expression or function of zinc transporters in the onset and progression of diverse pathological conditions. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the molecular regulation and recent advances on ZIPs and ZnTs in diabetes and related disorders, including obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, cancers and immune dysregulation. We also discuss ongoing scientific controversies regarding the mechanistic roles of zinc transporters, particularly ZnT8, in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Finally, we provide perspectives on the translational potential of zinc transporter-targeted strategies in precision medicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145133341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The heart-brain axis in the context of cardiovascular disease.","authors":"Shagufta Haque, Partha Dutta","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00020.2025","DOIUrl":"10.1152/physiol.00020.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The heart-brain axis forms an important physiological network, which is increasingly gaining recognition due to its involvement in cardiac function under steady-state conditions and pathological modifications of the heart in cardiovascular disease. Neurological disorders are known to affect cardiac function by propagating structural alterations in the heart. On the other hand, cardiovascular events have detrimental effects on the central nervous system affecting several brain regions, such as the hippocampus, which is important for cognition. Several anatomical regions of the brain, such as cortical and subcortical forebrain structures, regulate cardiovascular functions via the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which are parts of the autonomic nervous system, play a crucial role in cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular disease, such as myocardial infarction (MI), activates the sympathetic nervous system, leading to exaggerated cardiac remodeling and subsequent arrhythmias. MI also alters afferent sensory neurons affecting nociceptive neurotransmission. This review focuses on the significance of the heart-brain axis and summarizes recent studies in this arena.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12515527/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145126967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Autonomic mechanisms of blood pressure control in females across the lifespan.","authors":"Qi Fu","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00018.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00018.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This review summarizes current knowledge on autonomic cardiovascular function, with a focus on sympathetic neural control, in human females across the lifespan in health and disease. Specifically, sympathetic activity at rest and during stressors, sympathetic transduction into vascular resistance or blood pressure, and baroreflex sensitivity under physiological conditions (e.g., the menstrual cycle, oral contraceptives, pregnancy, and menopause) are reviewed. Further, how sympathetic neural control is influenced by pathological conditions that only affect females (e.g., polycystic ovarian syndrome and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy) or that affect a large proportion of females (e.g., postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, hypertension, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) are also reviewed. Generally, augmented sympathetic activity, blunted sympathetic transduction, and reduced baroreflex sensitivity are associated with disease state. Pregnancy might be the only healthy state that is linked with sympathetic activation. Despite advancements in knowledge over the past 30 years, significant research gaps persist in neural control in females, especially around perimenopause.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145126961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kyce Darouiche, Shelby Devin, Silvana Valdebenito, David Ajasin, Eliseo Eugenin
{"title":"Cocaine-Induced Cardiovascular and Immune Dysfunction: Emerging Mechanisms.","authors":"Kyce Darouiche, Shelby Devin, Silvana Valdebenito, David Ajasin, Eliseo Eugenin","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00004.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00004.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Substance use and its associated comorbidities are a global public health crisis affecting millions of people, involving both legal and illicit substances, including cocaine, opioids, methamphetamine, fentanyl, alcohol, and marijuana. Currently, most of the research in drug abuse has been focused on the drug-mediated dysregulation of the monoaminergic and glutamatergic brain pathways due to their role in addiction, tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and relapse. In addition, individuals using cocaine (recreational and chronic) also exhibit signs of peripheral compromise, affecting the cardiovascular system, immune function, and multiple aging processes. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Recently, emerging mechanisms of drug action, independent of neurotransmitter dysregulation, have been described in non-neuronal cells, helping to explain the significant burden of cardiovascular disease, immune compromise, and sudden death in the drug user population.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145126986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Molecular Foundations of High Heart Rates: Sarcomeric Protein Adaptations.","authors":"William Joyce","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00021.2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00021.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>From shrews to whales, mammals exhibit a range of heart rates that varies more than 100-fold. Whilst the fundamental processes of cardiac contraction are conserved, the repertoire of contractile proteins of the sarcomere must be optimized to each species' operating heart rate range. For genes expressed in both cardiac and skeletal muscle types, such as myosin heavy chain and titin, paralog switching and alternative splicing provide a versatile toolkit that flexibly and reversibly modulates sarcomeric proteins. These interchangeable strategies enable precise functional adaptation without requiring permanent sequence changes. However, because these genes are shared across striated muscle types, fixed sequence mutations can inevitably affect both cardiac and skeletal muscle, restricting evolutionary innovation. In contrast, regulatory proteins with heart-specific paralogs-such as cardiac troponin I and cardiac myosin binding protein C-have evolved with fewer constraints, accumulating mutations that fine-tune their interactions and functions specifically for the myocardium.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145056623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kimberly L Dodge-Kafka, Moriah Gildart Turcotte, Sofia M Possidento, Michael S Kapiloff
{"title":"β-Adrenergic Receptors - Not Always Outside-In.","authors":"Kimberly L Dodge-Kafka, Moriah Gildart Turcotte, Sofia M Possidento, Michael S Kapiloff","doi":"10.1152/physiol.00019.2025","DOIUrl":"10.1152/physiol.00019.2025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Canonical activation of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) by hormone binding occurs at the plasma membrane, resulting in the diffusion of second messengers to intracellular effector sites throughout the cell. In contrast, recent evidence suggests that functional GPCRs can induce signaling from distinct intracellular domains, contributing to specificity in signaling. Functional adrenergic receptors have been identified at intracellular sites in the cardiac myocyte such as endosomes, the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi and the inner nuclear membrane. These receptors are key regulators of cardiac physiology, mediating the response of the heart to sympathetic stimulation. Under conditions of prolonged cardiac stress leading to chronic adrenergic receptor stimulation, these receptors stimulate pathways that lead to cardiac pathophysiology such as myocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis and fibrosis, ultimately leading to heart failure. Hence, significant work has resulted in the pharmacological modulation of β-adrenergic receptors for therapeutic benefit. Here, we discuss how the localization of β<sub>1</sub> and β<sub>2</sub> adrenergic receptors to different sites within the cardiac myocyte dictates control over specific physiological and pathological events. We discuss how therapeutically targeting receptors at these distinct sites may be used for treatment of cardiac disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":520753,"journal":{"name":"Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145034776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}