Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) affects adversely implantation following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. COH with gonadotropins alters endometrial receptivity and luteal function. In addition periovulatory endometrial characteristics in stimulated cycles are considerably different compared with the natural cycles, and periovulatory secretory transformation is consistently ...

The success of implantation is an interactive process between the blastocyst and the uterus. Synchronized development of embryos with uterine differentiation to a receptive state is necessary to complete pregnancy. The period of uterine receptivity for implantation is limited and referred to as the "implantation window", which is regulated by ovarian steroid hormones. Implantation process is co...

Many underlying causes of human infertility have been overcome by using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) techniques. Nevertheless, implantation rates in IVF programs remain low despite the transfer of apparently healthy embryos. This suggests that there are problems with the differentiation of the uterus to the receptive state in response to the ovarian hormones estrogen an...

Understanding of ectopic implantation within the Fallopian tube (FT) is limited. In the human uterus, the putative 'window of implantation' in the mid-luteal phase of the menstrual cycle is accompanied by increased endometrial epithelial expression of the integrins α(1)β(1), α(4)β(1) and α(v)β(3) and its ligand osteopontin. Similar cyclical changes in FT integrin expression have been proposed t...

It is known that psychological stress affects reproduction in women, but it is unknown whether the effect is by impairing implantation. Although studies suggest that long periods of auditory or restraint stress may inhibit implantation in rats and mice, the exact stage of pregnancy at which stress impairs implantation is unclear. Furthermore, whether stress impairs implantation by decreasing th...

Bioactive lipid molecules as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), prostaglandins (PG) and endocannabinoids are important mediators of embryo implantation. Based on previous published data we became interested in studying the interaction between these three groups of lipid derivatives in the rat uterus during the window of implantation. Thus, we adopted a pharmacological approach in vitro using LPA, DGP...