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Review
. 2019 May 1;20(9):2162.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20092162.

Extracellular Vesicles in Human Oogenesis and Implantation

Francesca Andronico  1 , Rosalia Battaglia  2 , Marco Ragusa  3   4 , Davide Barbagallo  5 , Michele Purrello  6 , Cinzia Di Pietro  7
Affiliations
Review

Extracellular Vesicles in Human Oogenesis and Implantation

Francesca Andronico et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Reproduction, the ability to generate offspring, represents one of the most important biological processes, being essential for the conservation of the species. In mammals, it involves different cell types, tissues and organs, which, by several signaling molecules, coordinate the different events such as gametogenesis, fertilization and embryo development. In the last few years, the role of Extracellular Vesicles, as mediators of cell communication, has been investigated in every phase of these complex processes. Microvesicles and exosomes, identified in the fluid of ovarian follicles during egg maturation, are involved in communication between the developing oocyte and the somatic follicular cells. More recently, it has been demonstrated that, during implantation, Extracellular Vesicles could participate in the complex dialog between the embryo and maternal tissues. In this review, we will focus our attention on extracellular vesicles and their cargo in human female reproduction, mainly underlining the involvement of microRNAs in intercellular communication during the several phases of the reproductive process.

Keywords: Blastocyst; Endometrium; Exosomes; Extracellular vesicles; MicroRNAs; Microvesicles; Oocyte.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no Conflicts of Interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the Ovarian Follicle structure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Milestones of the main significant papers about the involvement of EVs in follicle growth and their potential role in fertility disorders.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Section of a human blastocyst ready for implantation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
An overview of the involvement of exosomes and microvesicles (MV) in the cross-talk established between the endometrial epithelium and the trophoectoderm, probably mediated by the endometrial fluid. Released vesicles are represented with the same color of the donor cell, and the effect on the recipient cell is indicated in the colored-boxes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Milestones of the main significant papers about the involvement of EVs in embryo implantation and its early development and their potential role in negative pregnancy outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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