Transient thiol-expression and thiol disulphide cluster-receptor communications: a molecular basis for...

The attachment of trophoblast to uterine epithelium during implantation is an intricate and complex instance of cell-cell communication, the molecular aspects of which remain rather undefined. In this study, we screened the surface domains of the pre-, peri- and post implantation mouse embryos with a thiol-specific probe. Transient thiol-expression in peri-implantation embryos suggested their involvement in implantation either through disulphide bridge establishment or through a communication between a thiol-disulphide cluster of the blastocyst and a corresponding receptor of the endometrium.