Chan Hon Y, Robertson Sarah A
The Robinson Research Institute and School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
Reprod Fertil Dev. 2025 Mar;37. doi: 10.1071/RD24162.
Embryo implantation requires both a developmentally competent embryo and a receptive uterus. Impaired uterine receptivity is a common constraint on implantation success and reproductive outcome. Ovarian steroid hormones oestrogen and progesterone play a central role in establishing uterine receptivity, but other factors also contribute. One additional regulating factor is male partner seminal fluid. However, the full physiological impacts of seminal fluid on uterine receptivity and the specific molecular pathways involved are not yet completely defined. New advances in RNA-sequencing technologies provide a powerful means to examine how uterine tissues and cells respond to seminal fluid contact. Findings utilising sequencing technology provide strong cellular and molecular evidence in humans and mice that seminal fluid contact around the time of ovulation drives immune and vascular changes with potential to affect endometrial receptivity in the peri-implantation phase. This approach has led to the discovery of novel mediators and regulatory factors subsequently shown to facilitate embryo implantation in genetic mouse models, enabling functional validation. Here, we summarise the evidence from recent microarray and RNA-sequencing findings that seminal fluid contact can directly and indirectly impact the transcriptional state of endometrial tissue during the implantation window in mice and also in humans. Progress in elucidating the female reproductive tract response to seminal fluid will improve understanding of male partner effects on endometrial receptivity, and the knowledge gained will have practical applications for achieving healthy pregnancy and offspring outcomes.
胚胎着床需要一个发育能力正常的胚胎和一个具备接受性的子宫。子宫接受性受损是着床成功和生殖结局的常见制约因素。卵巢甾体激素雌激素和孕酮在建立子宫接受性方面发挥核心作用，但其他因素也有影响。另一个调节因素是男性伴侣的精液。然而，精液对子宫接受性的完整生理影响以及所涉及的具体分子途径尚未完全明确。RNA测序技术的新进展提供了一种强大的手段，用于研究子宫组织和细胞如何对精液接触作出反应。利用测序技术的研究结果在人类和小鼠中提供了有力的细胞和分子证据，表明排卵前后的精液接触会引发免疫和血管变化，有可能影响植入前阶段的子宫内膜接受性。这种方法已导致发现新的介质和调节因子，随后在基因小鼠模型中证明这些因子有助于胚胎着床，从而实现功能验证。在此，我们总结了近期微阵列和RNA测序研究结果的证据，即精液接触可直接和间接影响小鼠和人类着床窗口期子宫内膜组织的转录状态。阐明女性生殖道对精液反应的进展将增进对男性伴侣对子宫内膜接受性影响的理解，所获得的知识将对实现健康妊娠和后代结局具有实际应用价值。
