Follistatin Plays Important Role in Embryo Implantation, According to Study from Baylor College of Medicine Researchers

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas has discovered the importance of Follistatin in embryo implantation. They found this protein is a key player in embryo plantation.

The research to determine the role of Follistatin in embryo implantation is conducted by the team of researchers with a senior author, A Professor of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor, Dr. Martin Matzuk, according to the news release from the Baylor College of Medicine. Three other co-authors are two researchers from the Department of Pathology and Immunology, Paul T. Fullerton, Jr. and Diana Monsivais, and Ramakrishna Kommagani from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Their research has found the importance of Follistatin in embryo implantation to establish the receptivity of uterus to the implanted embryo. They aim to increase the success rate of implanting embryo by examining the further role of the Follistatin in embryo implantation. They have also published the research in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Follistatin was already known to be important after implantation," Monsivais said explaining the famous role of Follistatin in embryo implantation. "We were surprised to also see effects even earlier than decidualization; they occurred in implantation, which had not been described before."

As the activin-binding protein, Follistatin is known to be an important factor in the placenta formation. It mediates the trophoblast cells at the outer layer of the blastocyst that provides nutrients to the embryo. The researchers' experiment has shown the further function of Follistatin in embryo implantation, even before the formation of the placenta.

Implanting embryo in the uterus is a very complex process, as half of in-vitro fertilization procedures failed. The research in the mouse has discovered the very important role of Follistatin in embryo implantation, as the mice with the lack of Follistatin in their uterus produce fewer pups and litter than the normal mice. This finding is expected to bring a better understanding of the embryo implantation.