ReviewBiomolecules2026
Back to the Future-A 50-Year Dive into Embryo Implantation Research: Cell Biological Paradox, Epithelial Cell Polarity, and EMT.
Review in Biomolecules, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Embryo implantation presents a cell biological paradox: contact formation between the trophoblast of the blastocyst and the epithelial lining of the endometrium contradicts typical epithelial cell behaviour, as does the subsequent invasion needed for placenta formation in most species (including the human). Explaining this conundrum became a challenge for investigation since its recognition about 40 years ago and it receives increasing interest because implantation failure appears to be a major cause for low success in assisted reproduction. The present article reviews the main findings that have directed attention of researchers on epithelial cell polarity and on the theoretical concept of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Apart from trophoblast attachment competence, a special focus is on endometrial receptivity. Comparison with epithelial fusion processes (EFPs) in development and with tumour cell invasion has been and is still considered helpful in order to take advantage of the progress made in those fields. Concerning the mechanisms involved, it must be emphasized that trophoblast and uterine luminal epithelium (ULE) do not undergo a complete switch to a mesenchymal programme (do not undergo a complete EMT) but make use of partial changes in the epithelial programme. The large number of data accumulated recently should allow us to now make progress in identifying what these partial programme changes are exactly and how they are regulated; also, they may offer chances for obtaining deeper insights into the regulation of implantation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.