Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Therapeutic Strategies for Improving Pregnancy Rates by Analyzing Embryo-Endometrium Interactions
05:13

Author Spotlight: Advancing Therapeutic Strategies for Improving Pregnancy Rates by Analyzing Embryo-Endometrium Interactions

Published on: June 21, 2024

941

Human embryo implantation

Joanne Muter1,2, Vincent J Lynch3, Rajiv C McCoy4

  • 1Division of Biomedical Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK.

Development (Cambridge, England)
|May 31, 2023
PubMed

Embryo implantation in humans is interstitial, meaning the entire conceptus embeds in the endometrium before the placental trophoblast invades beyond the uterine mucosa into the underlying inner myometrium. Once implanted, embryo survival pivots on the transformation of the endometrium into an anti-inflammatory placental bed, termed decidua, under homeostatic control of uterine natural killer cells. Here, we examine the evolutionary context of embryo implantation and elaborate on uterine remodelling before and after conception in humans. We also discuss the interactions between the embryo and the decidualising endometrium that regulate interstitial implantation and determine embryo fitness. Together, this Review highlights the precarious but adaptable nature of the implantation process.

Keywords:
AneuploidyDecidualisationImplantationPregnancyUterine remodelling

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