Molecular human reproduction

Current interventions for endometriosis mainly involve hormone therapies but have limited efficacy and unacceptable side effects due to the lack of selectivity to distinguish between endometriosis and endometrial tissues. Elucidating the mo…

In women with endometriosis, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) or chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) is elevated in serum, peritoneal fluid, and endometriotic lesions, though its exact role in endometriosis is still unknown. The…

Fibrosis constitutes the principal pathophysiological mediator of pain and infertility manifestations in endometriosis, and the inhibitory factor of the TGF-β pathway, MADH7, makes a vital impact on the progression of fibrosis. Ovarian tumo…

Adenomyosis-the ectopic presence of endometrial glands and stroma within the myometrium-affects reproductive-age women and is associated with pain, bleeding, and subfertility, yet the immune events that precede pregnancy remain poorly defin…

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disorder characterized by progressive fibrosis, which is closely associated with clinical symptoms such as dysmenorrhea and infertility. While myofibroblast activation is central to fibrogenesis, the…

Endometriosis, defined as the growth of endometrial-like tissues outside the uterus, is a common disease among women. Numerous in vivo rodent models of endometriosis have been developed to explore multiple aspects of this poorly understood …

In vivo models of endometriosis enable the discovery and preclinical testing of new therapies. Several rodent models of endometriosis exist, but a lack of harmonization impedes reproducibility and comparability of results among investigator…

The aetiology of endometriosis remains poorly understood. In vitro model systems provide the opportunity to identify the mechanisms driving disease pathogenesis using human cells. Three-dimensional models, particularly organoid systems, hav…

Pain is a debilitating symptom of endometriosis, and its mechanisms are often explored using rodent models. However, a lack of harmonization amongst models and behavioural measures, in addition to inconsistent reporting, might limit the ove…

Endometrial collagen I undergoes dynamic degradation and remodelling in response to endometrial stromal cell (ESC) decidualization and embryo implantation. However, excessive collagen I deposition in the endometrium during the implantation …

The pathogenesis of adenomyosis is closely related to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and macrophages. MicroRNAs have been extensively investigated in relation to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a range of malignancies. Howev…

Assisted reproductive technologies are an emerging field in equine reproduction, with species-dependent peculiarities, such as the low success rate of conventional IVF. Here, the 'cumulome' was related to the developmental capacity of its c…

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors have been used clinically as anticancer and immunosuppressive agents for over 20 years, demonstrating their safety after long-term administration. These inhibitors exhibit various effects, inc…

Spermatozoa have been shown to carry key RNAs which, according to animal evidence, seem to play a role in early embryo development. In this context, a potential key growth regulator is insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), a highly conserved…

Currently, our understanding of hormonal regulation within the female reproductive system is largely based on our knowledge of estrogen and progesterone signalling. However, while the important functions of androgens in male physiology are …

This review leads the 2023 Call for Papers in MHR: 'Cyclical function of the female reproductive tract' and will outline the complex and fascinating changes that take place in the reproductive tract during the menstrual cycle. We will also …

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent programmed cell death process characterized by the accumulation of lethal oxidative damage. Localized iron overload is a unique clinical phenomenon in ovarian endometriosis (EM). However, the role and mechan…

The development of endometriosis is closely linked to macrophages, and the type M1 macrophage has been hypothesized to play an inhibitory role in its progression. Escherichia coli induces macrophage polarization toward M1 in numerous diseas…

Inflammasomes are multi-protein complexes localized within immune and non-immune cells that induce caspase activation, proinflammatory cytokine secretion, and ultimately pyroptosis-a type of cell death. Inflammasomes are involved in a varie…

Endometriosis is a common disease in women of childbearing age and is closely associated with female infertility. However, the pathogenesis of endometriosis-related infertility is still not fully understood. Prohibitin 1 (PHB1), a highly co…

The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a cytosolic multi-protein complex that induces inflammation and is known to be regulated negatively by autophagy. Previous studies reported an abnormal induction of aut…

Peritoneal macrophages play a significant role in the progression of endometriosis (EM), but their functional differentiation is still unclear, and their phagocytic ability is weak. CD47-signal-regulated protein α (SIRPα) and PD-L1-PD-1 are…

A distinct age-related alteration in the uterine environment has recently been identified as a prevalent cause of the reproductive decline in older female mice. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie age-associated uterine adaptabi…

Endometriosis is a complex disease, influenced by genetic factors. Genetic markers associated with endometriosis exist at chromosome 1p36.12 and lead to altered expression of the long intergenic non-coding RNA 339 (LINC00339), however, the …

Endometriosis is characterised by inflammation and fibrotic changes. Our previous study using a mouse model showed that proinflammatory factors present in peritoneal haemorrhage exacerbated inflammation in endometriosis-like grafts, at leas…