Endometrial Receptivity to Implantation in Humans: Biochemical and Molecular Aspects

Abstract

The success rate of several advanced basic and clinical techniques in thefield of mammalian biotechnology, including cloning, pre-implantation geneticdiagnosis, and assisted reproductive techniques (ART) depends mainly on thesuccess rate of pregnancy following in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVFET).The techniques used in ART have advanced considerably since the firstin vitro fertilization birth in 1978. However, despite these advances, pregnancyrates are still relatively low and have not increased significantly in the lastdecade. Based on the facts that embryo implantation is considered as thelast barrier in ART and that inadequate endometrial receptivity is responsiblefor approximately two-thirds of implantation failures, intensive research workhas been performed to understand the physiology, regulation, and the clinicalassessments of the endometrial receptivity to improve the success rate ofIVF-ET. This and the ongoing reviews tend to cover the different aspects of theendometrial receptivity mainly in human model. The present part of this seriesprimarily concerns with biochemical and molecular events in the endometriumcoordinated within its receptivity period termed as the window of implantation.Successive sections will deal with its ultrastructural changes, biomarkers,clinical assessments and regulators of endometrium within the window of implantation.

Keywords

• Endometrial Receptivity
• Adhesion Molecules
• Anti-Adhesion Molecules
• Decidua
• Uterine Glands