Trophoblast Invasion And Endometrial Receptivity

Interest in mechanisms of embryo implantation is increasing, particularly with the realization that failure of implantation after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer places significant limits on the success of treatment. In addition, there is a need to provide hypotheses, and ultimately mechanisms, for the high rates of embryonic loss in women in the population at large. Traditionally, implantation research has concentrated on genetics and endocrinology without providing many therapeutic benefits. A new era is now beginning with the application of modem cellular and molecular approaches to the investigation of the relationship between trophoblast and endometrium. At the same time, older data can be reevaluated in the light of current research into cell cell and cell-matrix interactions. The feeling that new avenues of research are open was apparent when an international group of scientists came together at a workshop on "The Cell Biology of Trophoblast Invasion In Vivo and In Vitro" held during the XXIV Annual Meeting of the Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture Study Group (C.T.O.C.) at Heidelberg in 1986. What was unusual about this Conference was the interdisciplinary dialogue between implantation researchers and tumor biologists, highlighting aspects common to invasion of trophoblast and tumor cells.

This volume contains the proceedings of the Symposium on Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Periimplantation Processes, held July 15 - 18, 1994, in Boston, Massachusetts. Despite considerable research, the molecular and cellular bases of embryo-uterine interactions are still poorly understood. The papers included in this volume address recent advances in several areas in the field of implantation, including uterine receptivity, hormonal regulation, cell-cell interaction, growth factors/cytokines, immunobiology, and trophoblast invasion.

Implantation of the embryo into the maternal endometrium represents a crucial step in the reproductive process. It results from a cascade of finely tuned events. Despite recent progress in the field, many points still require clarification. This special issue offers a broad coverage of the latest findings. New concepts and applications are presented which are based on data strongly suggesting that both embryo implantation and uterine receptivity are controlled, primarily, though not exclusively, by locally acting growth factors and cytokines. Different processes are also studied, such as the MMPs expression regulating the trophoblast invasion, or the possible secretion of sHLA-G molecules by human embryos and its correlation to a successful pregnancy. Further points under discussion are the chromosomal imbalance leading to embryonic mortality, and the potential of the baboon model to study embryo implantation. Finally, a comparative survey is given of the general mechanical, endocrinological and cellular aspects involved in implantation in mammals. Clinicians as well as basic researchers will find this special issue to be a valuable source of new insights.

The structural, biochemical and clinical events related to menstruation, implantation, parturition, endometriosis, abnormal uterine bleeding and endometrial cancer are discussed in this comprehensive volume on the biological functions of the endometrium. New topics, such as the biochemical and molecular mechanisms regulating maternal embryonic interaction, are explored, and gynecologic endoscopy and therapeutic tools are discussed. The proceedings of the first conference is also available from the Academy, as volume 622 of The Annals of The New York Academy of Science.

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