STUDY QUESTION Does ulipristal acetate (UPA) used for emergency contraception (EC) interfere with the human embryo implantation process? SUMMARY ANSWER UPA, at the dosage used for EC, does not affect human embryo implantation process, in vitro. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY A single pre-ovulatory dose of UPA (30 mg) acts by delaying or inhibiting ovulation and is recommended as first choice among e...

BACKGROUND Our aim was to study ways to improve IVF success rates in women with suspected endometrial receptivity defects. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining the effect of letrozole (aromatase inhibitor) on integrin expression as a marker of endometrial receptivity. We compared IVF outcomes in 97 infertile women who had undergone ανβ3 integrin assessment by immunohist...

Background Failure in the endometrial receptivity may account for a significant number of infertility cases including unexplained infertility in women. Reduction in the endometrial estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) expression during implantation may be a critical event that coincides with the expression of specific genes and the formation of a receptive endometrium. The aim of the present study wa...

BACKGROUND We aimed to assess whether salpingectomy in women with communicating hydrosalpinges influenced endometrial receptivity. METHODS The inclusion criteria were: women with communicating hydrosalpinges, absence of other confounding infertility factors and aged <40 years. Patients were scheduled for laparoscopy during the putative window of implantation (cycle days 19-21). In patients in...

Endometriosis is a disorder that affects 5% of the normal population but is present in up to 40% of women with pelvic pain and/or infertility. Recent evidence suggests that the endometrium of women with endometriosis exhibits progesterone insensitivity. One endometrial protein that fluctuates in response to progesterone is the estrogen receptor-alpha (ER alpha), being down-regulated at the time...

The human endometrium undergoes to a complex series of proliferative and secretory changes in each menstrual cycle and displays only a short period of receptivity, known as the "window of implantation", necessary for the implantation of the blastocyst in the uterus. The implantation process occurs in a sequential manner, leading to the establishment of pregnancy. Morphofunctional changes during...

Human endometrium resists embryo implantation except during the 'window of receptivity'. A change in endometrial gene expression is required for the development of receptivity. Uterine calbindin-D28k (CaBP-28k) is involved in the regulation of endometrial receptivity by intracellular Ca2+. Currently, this protein is known to be mainly expressed in brain, kidneys, and pancreas, but potential rol...

Background: The process of implantation involves the interaction of the human embryo and the uterine epithelium. Failure of implantation is a major reason for infertility in women and the inability to achieve endometrial receptivity is responsible for much of the failure of reproductive technologies. Management of repeated implantation failure despite transfer of good-quality embryos still rema...

Previous studies have shown that increasing estradiol concentrations had a toxic effect on the embryo and were deleterious to embryo adhesion. In this study, we evaluated the physiological impact of estradiol concentrations on endometrial cells to reveal that serum estradiol levels probably targeted the endometrium in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) protocols. An attachment model of h...