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Comment
. 2013 Apr 11;88(4):94.
doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.113.108944. Print 2013 Apr.

The glands have it

Ann E Sutherland  1
Affiliations
Comment

The glands have it

Ann E Sutherland. Biol Reprod. .

Abstract

In this issue of Biology of Reproduction, a study by Filant and Spencer uses the uterine gland "knockout" (PUGKO) mouse model to determine the functional effects on implantation and decidualization of an absence of uterine glands.

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
The function of uterine glands at the time of implantation. In response to a surge of estrogen, the glandular epithelium (GE) secretes specific factors into the uterine lumen, including LIF and calcitonin. LIF directly targets the luminal epithelium (LE), promoting phosphorylation of Stat3 in concert with signals from the blastocyst and triggering increased expression of many proteins, including HB-EGF, cochlin, IGFBP-3, and IRG1 by the LE. Secretions from the GE, together with signals from the blastocyst, are required for initiation of decidualization, and the study by Filant and Spencer [19] shows that LIF is necessary but insufficient by itself for the initiation of decidualization, implicating other, as yet unidentified, factors in this process.
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