Review
Immunology
Zhi Lin, Jia-Lu Shi, Min Chen, Zi-Meng Zheng, Ming-Qing Li, Jun Shao
Summary: C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), also known as monocytic chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), is an important chemotactic factor that recruits macrophages for immune response. It is expressed at the maternal-fetal interface and has physiological regulators that maintain normal immune cell recruitment, tissue remodeling, and angiogenesis. However, abnormal levels of CCL2 have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This review focuses on CCL2 expression, regulatory mechanisms, and signaling pathways at the maternal-fetal interface to provide a comprehensive understanding of CCL2 in pregnancy.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Physiology
Inmaculada Moreno, Antonio Capalbo, Aymara Mas, Tamara Garrido-Gomez, Beatriz Roson, Maurizio Poli, Eva Dimitriadis, Xavier Santamaria, Felipe Vilella, Carlos Simon
Summary: Pregnancy is established during the periconceptional period from blastocyst attachment to placenta formation, significantly impacting the health of both the child and the mother. Advances in understanding the periconceptional space, including the preimplantation human embryo and maternal endometrium, offer opportunities for preventative interventions. This review discusses the role of maternal decidua, the maternal-embryonic interface, the endometrial microbiome, and the myometrium in pregnancy health during the periconceptional period.
PHYSIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Developmental Biology
Johanne Johnsen Rakner, Gabriela Brettas Silva, Siv Boon Mundal, Astrid Josefin Thaning, Mattijs Elschot, Jenny Ostrop, Liv Cecilie Vestrheim Thomsen, Line Bjorge, Lobke Marijn Gierman, Ann-Charlotte Iversen
Summary: Inflammation in preeclampsia affects the interaction between maternal immune cells and fetal trophoblasts, with the pattern recognition receptor nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein (NOD)1 playing a significant role. It was found that in preeclamptic pregnancies, there is an increase in NOD1 expression density, and strong expression of NOD1 is associated with trophoblast types.
Article
Biology
Tamara Garrido-Gomez, Nerea Castillo-Marco, Monica Clemente-Ciscar, Teresa Cordero, Irene Munoz-Blat, Alicia Amadoz, Jorge Jimenez-Almazan, Rogelio Monfort-Ortiz, Reyes Climent, Alfredo Perales-Marin, Carlos Simon
Summary: Through global RNA sequencing, a fingerprint comprising 120 genes encoding the decidualization defect in women who developed severe preeclampsia has been identified. These findings implicate dysregulated hormonal signaling in the decidual endometria of women with severe preeclampsia, providing a potential footprint for preconception or early prenatal screening of risk, aimed at improving prevention and early treatments.
Review
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Yubao Wei, Cuilian Zhang, Guoping Fan, Li Meng
Summary: Organoids have emerged as innovative models for biomedical research, providing insights into disease mechanisms and therapy development. Despite their limitations in fully mimicking in vivo tissues, organoids greatly benefit therapy development for reproductive clinics.
REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Mengxia Ji, Xiaohua Fu, Danni Huang, Ruifang Wu, Yunqing Jiang, Qiongxiao Huang
Summary: The clinical outcomes of TAM and HRT in treating patients with thin endometrium in FET cycles were compared. The results showed that compared to the HRT group, the TAM group had a shorter treatment duration, thicker endometrium on the transfer day, and better performance in terms of early miscarriage and live birth rates.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Berangere Coutanceau, Esther Dos Santos, Nelly Swierkowski Blanchard, Anne Sanchez Louboutin, Florence Boitrelle, Francois Margueritte, Francois Vialard, Valerie Serazin, Khadija Fathallah
Summary: Repeated embryo implantation failures (RIF) cause distress and frustration. Current treatments for RIF are empirical and ineffective. Immune dysregulation and imbalance of cytokines may be the main cause, suggesting potential for new treatments to increase implantation rate.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Siv Boon Mundal, Johanne Johnsen Rakner, Gabriela Brettas Silva, Lobke Marijn Gierman, Marie Austdal, Purusotam Basnet, Mattijs Elschot, Siril Skaret Bakke, Jenny Ostrop, Liv Cecilie Vestrheim Thomsen, Eric Keith Moses, Ganesh Acharya, Line Bjorge, Ann-Charlotte Iversen
Summary: Utero-placental development in pregnancy depends on direct maternal-fetal interaction in the uterine wall decidua. Abnormal uterine vascular remodeling preceding placental oxidative stress and placental dysfunction are associated with preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR).
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Subhashini Muhandiram, Keerthie Dissanayake, Toomos Orro, Kasun Godakumara, Suranga Kodithuwakku, Alireza Fazeli
Summary: Synchronized crosstalk between the embryo and endometrium during the periconception period is important for pregnancy establishment. The exchange of extracellular vesicles (EVs) of embryonic and endometrial origin plays a crucial role in embryo-maternal communication during peri-implantation. This study found that embryonic signals in the form of EVs can modulate the secretome of endometrial epithelial cells, enriching it with proteins that support embryo development, attachment, or implantation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Davoud Jafari-Gharabaghlou, Mostafa Vaghari-Tabari, Hajar Oghbaei, Laura Lotz, Reza Zarezadeh, Yeganeh Rastgar Rezaei, Mahnaz Ranjkesh, Mohammad Nouri, Amir Fattahi, Saba Nikanfar, Ralf Dittrich
Summary: This review highlights the role of various adipokines in embryo-maternal interactions, endometrial receptivity, and embryo implantation, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms.
ENDOCRINE CONNECTIONS
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Nupur Mukherjee, Richa Sharma, Deepak Modi
Summary: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) can be caused by uterine factors, male factors, or embryo factors. It is associated with disrupted endometrial receptivity, altered gene expression, immunologic disturbances, and epigenetic alterations. RIF is a heterogeneous condition with varied immune responses, and personalized therapies based on the patient's immune status are being tested.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
K. M. Wong, M. van Wely, H. R. Verhoeve, E. M. Kaaijk, F. Mol, F. van der Veen, S. Repping, S. Mastenbroek
Summary: A study in the Netherlands compared the freeze-all strategy with the conventional strategy in IVF treatments, and found that the conventional strategy had a higher cumulative ongoing pregnancy rate per woman. However, further research is needed to determine the efficacy of the freeze-all strategy in different patient subgroups and embryonic development stages, and to weigh the potential benefits and risks for mothers and children.
HUMAN REPRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kasun Godakumara, Paul R. Heath, Alireza Fazeli
Summary: One of the crucial steps in mammalian reproduction is implantation, and impaired embryo-maternal communication can lead to reduced potential for implantation. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer-bound nanoparticles involved in intercellular communication. This study investigated the effect of trophoblast EVs on the transcriptome of endometrial cells, revealing significant alterations in pathways critical to embryonic implantation. These findings contribute to our understanding of embryo-maternal communication in the pre-implantation period.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Yun-Chiao Hsieh, Tzu-Ching Kao, Ih-Jane Yang, Po-Kai Yang, Kuang-Han Chao, Mei-Jou Chen, Jehn-Hsiahn Yang, Shee-Uan Chen
Summary: This study found that serum estradiol levels in early pregnancy may impact the risk of preeclampsia, particularly following FET programmed cycles. The association between estradiol levels in early pregnancy and preeclampsia deserves further investigation.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Reeva Makhijani, Prachi Godiwala, James Grady, Alicia Christy, Kim Thornton, Daniel Grow, Lawrence Engmann
Summary: This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate if racial/ethnic differences persist in pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. The results showed that Black women had a significantly lower live birth rate and implantation rate, as well as higher clinical loss rate compared to other racial/ethnic groups.
FERTILITY AND STERILITY
(2022)