Role of activin-like receptor kinase‑5 in blastocyst implantation and placental development

Ruziguli Abuduwaili, Rukhliada Nikolai Nikolaevich, Aili Yiminniyazi

In this review, the authors systematize data that highlight the importance of signaling of the transforming growth factor-β family of proteins for maintaining reproductive function and endometrial homeostasis; it has been proved that conditional inactivation of activin-like receptor kinase-5 in experimental models inevitably leads to female subfertility due to impaired implantation processes, which leads to the occurrence of placental defects. The article provides scientific evidence in favor of the fact that the absence of Alk5 in the uterus leads to a significant decrease in reproductive capabilities due to abnormalities observed at different stages of pregnancy, including blastocyst defects, implantation, disorganization of trophoblast cells, fewer natural killer cells of the uterus and impaired remodeling of the spiral artery. The authors of the article raise a very important question in the context of the research topic: the morphology of the preimplantation human embryo is not identical with the analogous process in the mouse embryo, which is most often an experimental model, which significantly complicates the unambiguity of conclusions.

Keywords:proteins of transforming growth factor-β, activin-like receptor kinase-5, blastocyst, implantation, trophoblast, experimental model.