Semin Reprod Med 2000; 18(3): 273-288
DOI: 10.1055/s-2000-12565
Copyright © 2000 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Intracellular Signaling in the Developing Blastocyst as a Consequence of the Maternal-Embryonic Dialogue

D. Randall Armant, Jun Wang, Zitao Liu
  • C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Anatomy and Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan
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Publikationsdatum:
31. Dezember 2000 (online)

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ABSTRACT

The success of blastocyst implantation is dependent on signaling between the embryo and the receptive endometrium. Intercellular signaling molecules, which include hormones, growth factors, and cytokines, have been identified that participate in the maternal-embryonic dialogue. These biologically active molecules may target uterine and/or embryonic tissues in a biochemical cascade that coordinates the two developmental programs during implantation. Two notable uterine products are calcitonin and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor, which are both expressed during the receptive phase of the endometrium in humans and in rodent models. We review data that demonstrate the ability of these molecules to accelerate blastocyst differentiation and delineate the respective intracellular signaling pathways that advance the embryonic developmental program. An understanding of the mediators regulating embryonic development in utero and their biochemical mechanisms of the action may provide insights for improvement of embryo culture in vitro prior to blastocyst transfer.

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