Transcriptomics of the human endometrium

Abstract

During the mid-secretory phase, the endometrium acquires the receptive phenotype, which corresponds to the only period throughout the endometrial cycle in which embryo implantation is viable. Endometrial receptivity is a crucial process and even more important in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) where embryo-endometrial synchronization is coordinated through embryo transfer timing. Over the last decade, transcriptomic analyses performed on the human endometrium have shown that specific genomic signatures can be used to successfully phenotype different phases of the menstrual cycle including the receptive stage, independently of the histologi-cal appereance of the endometrial tissue. In this paper, we review current evidence demonstrating that endometrial transcriptomics objectively identifies the implantation window in a personalized manner, opening the field for the diagnosis of the endometrial factor in ART and moving to strati-fied medicine at this level, using microarray technology and soon high-throughput next generation sequencing coupled with functional and systems genomics approach. © 2014 UBC Press.