Understanding early pregnancy, towards a new vision on the treatment of human infertility.

The last 20 years research on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), focused almost exclusively on embryos. Despite the impressive technological advances the live birth rate has stalled at between 25% – 27%. The uterus, where the embryo must implant and develops, had been poorly studied. A successful pregnancy is the result of a complex molecular and cellular exchange established between the mother and the embryo since the early stages of pregnancy until baby deliver.

Today, we are able to transfer “good quality embryos” (based solely on morphological characteristics) into the maternal uterus, however, we don’t know if the uterus is ready to receive the embryo. Out of 50% of the ART failure cases are due to the impossibility by the maternal uterus to host the embryo at the moment of the embryo transfer. Also a “non-receptive uterus” can explain why 15% of couples using ART never become parents.

We must then work to understand both the fundamental and clinical aspects of the early pregnancy, and specially the complexity of the molecular and cellular exchanges during the embryo implantation in the maternal uterus. Understanding the EMByo Implantation Control at both embryo and maternal levels is the goal of the EMBIC network of excellence (www.embic.org). This consortium partially financed by the European Commission is composed of more than 200 researchers and clinicians from 18 leading European institutions of 9 countries. A better understanding of this early “molecular conversation” between the mother and the embryo will permit us to propose new therapies and technologies increasing ART success rates.

Media Contact

Juarez Perez Victor alfa

More Information:

http://www.embic.org

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors