What about superfertility, decidualization, and natural selection?

Coulam, Carolyn B.

doi:10.1007/s10815-016-0658-8

Cited by 29 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Decidualization is the differentiation of elongated, fibroblast‐like mesenchymal cells in the uterine stroma to rounded, epithelioid‐like cells during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy . This morphological change is initiated during the mid‐secretory phase of the menstrual cycle as a result of elevated progesterone levels and begins with stromal cells surrounding the spiral arteries in the upper two‐thirds of the endometrium, regardless of the presence or absence of a conceptus.…”

Section: Decidualization and Decidual Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Decidualization is the differentiation of elongated, fibroblast-like mesenchymal cells in the uterine stroma to rounded, epithelioid-like cells during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. 14 Human decidualization begins approximately 6 days after ovulation, at the onset of the putative window of implantation. 15 The process is characterized by morphological change in the ESCs, secretory transformation of the uterine glands, an influx of specialized uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, and vascular remodeling to support the maternal blood supply to the growing conceptus.…”

Section: Decidualization and Decidual Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Decidualization of the human endometrium

Okada

Tsuzuki

Murata

2018

Reprod Medicine & Biology

262

176

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BackgroundDecidualization of the human endometrium, which involves a dramatic morphological and functional differentiation of human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs), is essential for the establishment of a successful pregnancy. Decidualization results from a complex interplay of transcription factors, morphogens, cytokines, cell cycle regulators, and signaling pathways.MethodsBased on a literature review, the regulation of, and the molecular mechanisms involved in, the decidualization of the endometrium are described.Main findingsProgesterone, together with proteins that are regulated by progesterone and/or cyclic adenosine monophosphate, including homeobox A10, forkhead box O1, signal transducers and activators of transcription, and heart and neural crest derivatives expressed transcript 2, forms a critical network for ESC decidualization and is a prerequisite to successful implantation. Decidualized ESCs contribute to the microenvironment at the feto–maternal interface and its direct or indirect influence on extracellular matrix remodeling, regulation of the local immune response, anti‐oxidative stress, and angiogenesis (vascular maturation). Impairment of this process is associated with a variety of pregnancy disorders, including infertility, recurrent miscarriages, and uteroplacental disorders.ConclusionA deeper understanding of the process of decidualization is expected to provide new insights into the fields of reproductive biology and reproductive medicine.

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Section: Decidualization and Decidual Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Decidualization and Decidual Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Decidualization of the human endometrium

Okada

Tsuzuki

Murata

2018

Reprod Medicine & Biology

262

176

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“…A large literature describes mechanisms that avert or abort gestation in female primates when young conspecifics fail to thrive in prevailing environments (Beehner & Lu, ; Wasser & Barash, ). With very few exceptions (Coulam, ; Quenby, Vince, Farquharson, & Aplin, ), the human clinical literature ignores these mechanisms despite their implications not only for the incidence of spontaneous abortion but also for the timing of parturition. We call attention to this gap in the literature by showing that conception cohorts subjected to relatively little selection in utero yield relatively many live births before the 28th week of gestation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attrition does not occur randomly from conception to birth. Selection at implantation and early gestation, for example, spontaneously aborts most morphologically, chromosomally, and genetically abnormal fetuses (Coulam, ; Teklenburg, Salker, Heijnen, Macklon, & Brosens, ). For reasons as yet poorly understood, this early selection appears greater against female than male fetuses (Orzack et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive suppression, birth defects, and periviable birth

Catalano

Bruckner

Karasek

et al. 2018

Evolutionary Applications

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We argue that reproductive suppression has clinical implications beyond its contribution to the burden of spontaneous abortion. We theorize that the incidence of births before the 28th week of gestation, which contribute disproportionately to infant morbidity and mortality, varies over time in part due to reproductive suppression in the form of selection in utero. We further theorize that the prevalence of structural birth defects among survivors to birth from conception cohorts gauges selection in utero. We based these theories on literature positing that natural selection conserved mechanisms that spontaneously abort “risky” pregnancies including those otherwise likely to yield infants with structural birth defects or small‐for‐gestational age males. We test our theory using high‐quality birth defect surveillance data. We identify 479,885 male infants exposed to strong selection defined as membership in conception cohorts ranked in the lowest quartile of odds of a birth defect among live‐born females. We estimate the risk of periviable birth among these infants as a function of selective pressure as well as of mother's race/ethnicity and age. We find that male infants from exposed conception cohorts exhibited 10% lower odds of periviable birth than males from other conception cohorts. Our findings support the argument that selection in utero has implications beyond its contribution to the burden of spontaneous abortion.

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“…Conceptuses that survive to birth do not represent their conception cohort (Wilcox et al, ; Zinaman, Clegg, Brown, O'connor, & Selevan, ). Early in gestation, spontaneous abortion targets conceptuses with chromosomal, genetic, and morphological abnormalities that would make survival to reproductive age unlikely even in benign environments (Coulam, ; Quenby, Vince, Farquharson, & Aplin, ; Teklenburg et al, ). Later in gestation, spontaneous abortion selects mostly against small for gestational age, but otherwise normal, males (Bukowski et al, ; Mondal, Galloway, Bailey, & Mathews, ; Räisänen, Gissler, Saari, Kramer, & Heinonen, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%