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C Spanswick

Publications and source records attributed to C Spanswick.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Blastocyst implantation: the adhesion cascade.

This review covers the sequence of cell adhesion events occurring during implantation of the mammalian embryo, concentrating on data from mouse and human. The analogy is explored between initial attachment of trophoblast to the uterine lining epithelium and that of neutrophils to the endothelial lining of blood vessels at sites of inflammation. The possible role of various carbohydrate ligands in initial attachment of the blastocyst is reviewed. The evidence for subsequent stabilization of cell adhesion via integrins or the trophinin-tastin complex is discussed.

Animals↗

Integrins beta 5, beta 3 and alpha v are apically distributed in endometrial epithelium.

Several adhesion molecules have been shown to occur at the surface of endometrial cells. One of these is the integrin alpha v subunit which associates with various beta chains including beta 5. We demonstrate the presence of integrin beta 5 polypeptide in human endometrial epithelial cells throughout the menstrual cycle using immunocytochemistry with monospecific antibodies, and at the mRNA level by thermal amplification from endometrial cDNA. Integrin beta 5 is also found in a population of bone marrow-derived cells. A notable feature of the distribution of the beta 5 subunit in the glandular and luminal epithelium is its apical localization, which may suggest an involvement in implantation. However, no evidence was found for regulated expression of epithelial beta 5. In mouse, the beta 5 subunit is found at both the apical and basal surface of epithelial cells and expression is essentially oestrous cycle-independent. Comparisons are made in both species with the distribution of the alpha v and beta 3 subunits which also localize to the apical epithelium.

Animals↗