[Research progress on epigenetic mechanism of reproductive disorders]

The "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, DOHaD" theory suggests that adverse factors in early life can lead to the occurrence of chronic diseases in adulthood. In recent years, it has been discovered that maternal factors, intrauterine development environment and environmental exposure during pregnancy can mediate the changes of early egg/embryo development, promote the occurrence of reproductive disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome, diminished ovarian reserve, and endometriosis, and induce intergenerational genetic effects. This article has reviewed the progress of research on maternal factors which may affect the pathogenesis of reproductive disorders, and expounds its mechanism from the perspectives of epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding small RNA (miRNA) modification, with an aim to provide insights for studying the occurrence of adult reproductive disorders in early life and before pregnancy.