| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
REVIEW |
1 Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, PO Box 5152, Clayton, VIC 3166, Australia and 2 Academic Unit of Child Health, Division of Human Development, University of Manchester, St Mary’s Hospital Research Floor, Hathersage Road, Manchester, M13 0JH, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to R L Jones; Email: rebecca.lee.jones{at}manchester.ac.uk
Transforming growth factor ß (TGFß) superfamily members are closely associated with tissue remodelling events and reproductive processes. This review summarises the current state of knowledge regarding the expression and actions of TGFß superfamily members in the uterus, during the menstrual cycle and establishment of pregnancy. TGFßs and activin ß subunits are abundantly expressed in the endometrium, where roles in preparation events for implantation have been delineated, particularly in promoting decidualisation of endometrial stroma. These growth factors are also expressed by epithelial glands and secreted into uterine fluid, where interactions with preimplantation embryos are anticipated. Knockout models and embryo culture experiments implicate activins, TGFßs, nodal and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in promoting pre- and post-implantation embryo development. TGFß superfamily members may therefore be important in the maternal support of embryo development. Following implantation, invasion of the decidua by fetal trophoblasts is tightly modulated. Activin promotes, whilst TGFß and macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) inhibit, trophoblast migration in vitro, suggesting the relative balance of TGFß superfamily members participate in modulating the extent of decidual invasion. Activins and TGFßs have similar opposing actions in regulating placental hormone production. Inhibins and activins are produced by the placenta throughout pregnancy, and have explored as a potential markers in maternal serum for pregnancy and placental pathologies, including miscarriage, Down’s syndrome and pre-eclampsia. Finally, additional roles in immunomodulation at the materno-fetal interface, and in endometrial inflammatory events associated with menstruation and repair, are discussed.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  A. W. Horne, S. van den Driesche, A. E. King, S. Burgess, M. Myers, H. Ludlow, P. Lourenco, P. Ghazal, A. R. Williams, H. O. D. Critchley, et al. Endometrial Inhibin/Activin {beta}-B Subunit Expression Is Related to Decidualization and Is Reduced in Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2008; 93(6): 2375 - 2382. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. J. Stoikos, C. A. Harrison, L. A. Salamonsen, and E. Dimitriadis A distinct cohort of the TGF{beta} superfamily members expressed in human endometrium regulate decidualization Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2008; 23(6): 1447 - 1456. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Hayashi, A. R O'Connell, J. L Juengel, K. P McNatty, G. H Davis, F. W Bazer, and T. E Spencer Postnatal uterine development in Inverdale ewe lambs Reproduction, March 1, 2008; 135(3): 357 - 365. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. P. Gaide Chevronnay, P. B. Cornet, D. Delvaux, P. Lemoine, P. J. Courtoy, P. Henriet, and E. Marbaix Opposite Regulation of Transforming Growth Factors-{beta}2 and -{beta}3 Expression in the Human Endometrium Endocrinology, March 1, 2008; 149(3): 1015 - 1025. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. V. Ingman and R. L. Jones Cytokine knockouts in reproduction: the use of gene ablation to dissect roles of cytokines in reproductive biology Hum. Reprod. Update, March 1, 2008; 14(2): 179 - 192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Inman, K. Kawana, D. Schust, R. Lininger, and S. Young Cyclic Regulation of T-Bet and GATA-3 in Human Endometrium Reproductive Sciences, January 1, 2008; 15(1): 83 - 90. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Y Arai and T. Nishiyama Developmental Changes in Extracellular Matrix Messenger RNAs in the Mouse Placenta During the Second Half of Pregnancy: Possible Factors Involved in the Regulation of Placental Extracellular Matrix Expression Biol Reprod, December 1, 2007; 77(6): 923 - 933. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Papadaki, M. Alexiou, G. Cecena, M. Verykokakis, A. Bilitou, J. C. Cross, R. G. Oshima, and G. Mavrothalassitis Transcriptional Repressor Erf Determines Extraembryonic Ectoderm Differentiation Mol. Cell. Biol., July 15, 2007; 27(14): 5201 - 5213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Q. Yang, H.-Y. Lin, H.-X. Wang, H. Zhang, X. Zhang, H.-M. Wang, and C. Zhu Expression of Smad Ubiquitin Regulatory Factor 2 (Smurf2) in Rhesus Monkey Endometrium and Placenta During Early Pregnancy J. Histochem. Cytochem., May 1, 2007; 55(5): 453 - 460. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Wang and B. K Tsang Nodal signalling and apoptosis Reproduction, May 1, 2007; 133(5): 847 - 853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Han, M. Dias Figueiredo, K. A. Berghorn, T. N. Iwata, P. A. Clark-Campbell, I. C. Welsh, W. Wang, T. P. O'Brien, D. M. Lin, and M. S. Roberson Analysis of the Gene Regulatory Program Induced by the Homeobox Transcription Factor Distal-less 3 in Mouse Placenta Endocrinology, March 1, 2007; 148(3): 1246 - 1254. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. B. Keskin, D. S. J. Allan, B. Rybalov, M. M. Andzelm, J. N. H. Stern, H. D. Kopcow, L. A. Koopman, and J. L. Strominger TGFbeta promotes conversion of CD16+ peripheral blood NK cells into CD16- NK cells with similarities to decidual NK cells PNAS, February 27, 2007; 104(9): 3378 - 3383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Drummond and J. Findlay Focus on TGF-{beta} signalling. Reproduction, August 1, 2006; 132(2): 177 - 178. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
