Early steps of embryo implantation are regulated by exchange of extracellular vesicles between the embryo and the endometrium

Joanna Szuszkiewicz, Kamil Myszczynski, Zaneta P. Reliszko, Yael Heifetz, Monika M. Kaczmarek

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In early pregnancy, as the embryo arrives in the uterus, intensive communication between the embryo and uterus begins. Hundreds of molecules are known to be involved, but despite numerous findings, full understanding of the complexity of the embryo–maternal dialog remains elusive. Recently, extracellular vesicles, nanoparticles able to transfer functionally active cargo between cells, have emerged as important players in cell–cell communication, and as such, they have gained great attention over the past decade also in reproductive biology. Here, we use a domestic animal model (Sus scrofa) with an epitheliochorial, superficial type of placentation because of its advantage in studding uterine luminal fluid extracellular vesicles. We show that during early pregnancy, the uterine lumen is abundant with extracellular vesicles that carry a plethora of miRNAs able to target genes involved in embryonic and organismal development. These extracellular vesicles, upon the delivery to primary trophoblast cells, affect genes governing development as well as cell-to-cell signaling and interactions, consequently having an impact on trophoblast cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We conclude that the exchange of a unique population of extracellular vesicles and their molecular cargo at the maternal–embryo interface is the key to the success of embryo implantation and pregnancy.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere22450
JournalFASEB Journal
Volume36
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Keywords

  • embryo
  • extracellular vesicles
  • implantation
  • invasion
  • miRNA
  • migration
  • pregnancy
  • proliferation
  • transcriptome
  • trophoblast

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Biotechnology

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