Reproduction is one of the most fundamental issues in the natural world. The beginning of life begins with gametogenesis, followed by fertilization, cleavage, differentiation, and implantation of early embryo. During this period, cells undergo a series of rapid changes and dynamic events, each of which is regulated by genetics, epigenetics, metabolism, and other factors. Any procedural errors or micro-environmental interference in the process can affect normal embryonic development and finally lead to infertility. Thus, investigating the molecular basis, uncovering the key factors and regulating network of early embryonic development and implantation may help us track and describe the spatial-temporal dynamic changes of early life, which may benefit us greatly in fertility guidance, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of reproductive diseases.
Many remarkable achievements have recently been made in the fields of reproductive medicine and developmental biology. Milestone research includes the discovery of multiple maternal factors, the establishment and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells, and the mapping of single-cell gene expression landscapes of early embryos among numerous species. These findings expanded our understanding of the initial stage of life, greatly supported the subsequent research and relevant clinical treatment, and some research achievements have been translated into clinical practices, such as stem cell and organoid therapy for cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. However, the intrinsic regulatory networks of many maternal molecules, the inherent laws of their spatial-temporal expression, and mechanisms of maternal-fetal communications during blastocyst implantation have not yet been completely understood, and warrant further exploration. Recently, advanced technologies have been developed and used in biomedical research, such as long-read sequencing technology, single-cell sequencing technology, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and spatial transcriptomics. These technologies enable lower sample input to produce more accurate, single-cell resolution genomic, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome data, which will benefit a lot in the research of early embryonic development. The goal of this Research Topic on Regulatory Network in Embryonic Development and Implantation is to collect excellent articles focusing on resolving of key events of preimplantation and implantation embryos, discovering regulatory networks in cell fate determination, and mapping the dynamic changes in maternal-fetal communication during implantation. Collective, these studies can guide and initiate further research in reproductive medicine and developmental biology.
The specific themes include, but not limited to:
- Novel paternal and maternal factors involved in embryonic development and the molecular regulation mechanisms
- Epigenetic regulatory mechanism of cell fate determination in preimplantation embryos
- Differentiation characteristics of preimplantation embryo and regulatory mechanisms of cell development
- Micro-environmental factors involved in embryonic development and implantation
- Metabolism dynamic changes during the establishment of maternal-fetal communication
- Novel methods for the establishment of novel stabilized organoid models
Reproduction is one of the most fundamental issues in the natural world. The beginning of life begins with gametogenesis, followed by fertilization, cleavage, differentiation, and implantation of early embryo. During this period, cells undergo a series of rapid changes and dynamic events, each of which is regulated by genetics, epigenetics, metabolism, and other factors. Any procedural errors or micro-environmental interference in the process can affect normal embryonic development and finally lead to infertility. Thus, investigating the molecular basis, uncovering the key factors and regulating network of early embryonic development and implantation may help us track and describe the spatial-temporal dynamic changes of early life, which may benefit us greatly in fertility guidance, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of reproductive diseases.
Many remarkable achievements have recently been made in the fields of reproductive medicine and developmental biology. Milestone research includes the discovery of multiple maternal factors, the establishment and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells, and the mapping of single-cell gene expression landscapes of early embryos among numerous species. These findings expanded our understanding of the initial stage of life, greatly supported the subsequent research and relevant clinical treatment, and some research achievements have been translated into clinical practices, such as stem cell and organoid therapy for cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. However, the intrinsic regulatory networks of many maternal molecules, the inherent laws of their spatial-temporal expression, and mechanisms of maternal-fetal communications during blastocyst implantation have not yet been completely understood, and warrant further exploration. Recently, advanced technologies have been developed and used in biomedical research, such as long-read sequencing technology, single-cell sequencing technology, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and spatial transcriptomics. These technologies enable lower sample input to produce more accurate, single-cell resolution genomic, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome data, which will benefit a lot in the research of early embryonic development. The goal of this Research Topic on Regulatory Network in Embryonic Development and Implantation is to collect excellent articles focusing on resolving of key events of preimplantation and implantation embryos, discovering regulatory networks in cell fate determination, and mapping the dynamic changes in maternal-fetal communication during implantation. Collective, these studies can guide and initiate further research in reproductive medicine and developmental biology.
The specific themes include, but not limited to:
- Novel paternal and maternal factors involved in embryonic development and the molecular regulation mechanisms
- Epigenetic regulatory mechanism of cell fate determination in preimplantation embryos
- Differentiation characteristics of preimplantation embryo and regulatory mechanisms of cell development
- Micro-environmental factors involved in embryonic development and implantation
- Metabolism dynamic changes during the establishment of maternal-fetal communication
- Novel methods for the establishment of novel stabilized organoid models
