Nature communications

Protein O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification coupled to cellular metabolic plasticity. Aberrant O-GlcNAcylation has been observed in many cancers including endometrial cancer (EC), a common malignancy in women. However, clin…

In vitro fertilization efficiency is limited in part because a fraction of retrieved oocytes fails to fertilize. Accurately evaluating their quality could significantly improve in vitro fertilization efficiency, which would require better u…

Over 75% of failed pregnancies involve implantation defects. Growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2) is an adaptor protein involved in signal transduction and cell communication. Here we show that the expression of GRB2 protein is low…

Uterine scarring is a common complication following uterine injury, characterized by abnormal wound healing in the endometrial or myometrial tissue. However, the underlying mechanisms contributing to scar formation remain unclear, impeding …

The human Fallopian tube (FT) is an important organ in the female reproductive system and has been implicated as a site of origin for pelvic serous cancers, including high-grade serous tubo-ovarian carcinoma (HGSC). We have generated compre…

High incidence of unexplained miscarriage (UM) limits global human reproduction. Lithium (Li) batteries are widely used but rarely recycled, causing Li to spread into environments and enter human body. Notably, the healthy effects of Li exp…

Expanding in vitro fertilization (IVF) access requires improved patient counseling and affordability via cost-success transparency. Clinicians ask how two types of live birth prediction (LBP) models perform: machine learning, center-specifi…

The periconception period is critical for embryo development, pregnancy outcomes, and offspring health. During this stage, oviductal and uterine fluids facilitate embryo-maternal interactions and support early embryonic development. Using P…

Endometrial regeneration is essential for reproductive cycles and pregnancies, allowing the endometrium to undergo estrogen-driven repair, growth, and renewal after menstruation and parturition. Epithelial cells lining the uterine cavity un…

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common female cancer, with the uterine ectocervix being the most commonly affected site. However, cervical stem cells, their differentiation, and their regulation remain poorly understood. Here, we report …

Erectile dysfunction is attributable to numerous biological and psychological issues, and its prevalence increases with age. We conducted genome-wide association studies of erectile dysfunction in AllofUs subjects of European and African an…

Patients with peritoneal metastasized colorectal cancer (PM-CRC) have a dismal prognosis. We hypothesized that an immunosuppressive environment in the peritoneal cavity underlies poor prognosis. We define the composition of the human perito…

Endometriosis involves ectopic growth of endometrial-like tissue, yet the spatial transcriptomic and metabolic landscape of ovarian endometriomas remains poorly understood. This investigation presents a comprehensive multi-omics analysis of…

Sperm not only delivers the paternal genome to the oocyte but also regulatory small RNA (sRNA). However, the role of sRNA in fertilisation and human embryo development remains poorly understood. Here, couples undergoing IVF are recruited, a…

The progesterone receptor (PR) is a steroid-responsive nuclear receptor with two isoforms: PR-A and PR-B. Disruption of PR-A:PR-B signaling is associated with breast cancer through interactions with oncogenic co-regulatory proteins (CoRs). …

Biofilms are ubiquitous surface-associated bacterial communities embedded in an extracellular matrix. It is commonly assumed that biofilm cells are glued together by the matrix; however, how the specific biochemistry of matrix components af…

Analgesia by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is ascribed to inhibition of prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis and ensuing inflammation. However, NSAIDs have life-threatening side effects, and inhibition of inflammation delays pai…

Women have reported menstrual changes following SARS-CoV-2 infection and variation in long COVID symptoms across the menstrual cycle. We examined (i) whether COVID is linked to abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), (ii) if long COVID symptoms va…

Understanding human endometrial dynamics in the establishment of endometrial receptivity remains a challenge, which limits early diagnosis and treatment of endometrial-factor infertility. Here, we decode the endometrial dynamics of fertile …

The rapid accumulation of biomedical cohort data presents opportunities to explore disease mechanisms, risk factors, and prognostic markers. However, current research often has a narrow focus, limiting the exploration of risk factors and in…

Despite intensive development, P2X7 modulators have struggled in translation due to human genetic variability and species-dependent drug responses. Here, we identify PSFL1191, a portal-of-central-pocket (PCP)-site inhibitor selective for hu…

Advanced maternal age (AMA, ≥35 years) women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) face reduced live birth rates (LBR) and remain a major clinical challenge. In a large randomized trial, Zishen Yutai Pill (ZYP) improved LBR in t…

The common human SNP rs3820282 is associated with multiple phenotypes including gestational length and likelihood of endometriosis and cancer, presenting a paradigmatic pleiotropic variant. Deleterious pleiotropic mutations cause the co-occ…

Cellular responses to the steroid hormones, estrogen (E2), and progesterone (P4) are governed by their cognate receptor's transcriptional output. However, the feed-forward mechanisms that shape cell-type-specific transcriptional fulcrums fo…

Virulence factor genes (VFGs) play pivotal roles in bacterial infections and have been identified within the human gut microbiota. However, their involvement in chronic diseases remains poorly understood. Here, we establish an expanded VFG …