THE CYTOSKELETON OF UTERINE EPITHELIAL-CELLS - A NEW PLAYER IN UTERINE RECEPTIVITY AND THE PLASMA-MEMBRANE TRANSFORMATION

During early pregnancy and the period of blastocyst attachment, the pl asma membrane of uterine epithelial cells, which is the first site of contact between maternal and fetal cells, undergoes a remarkable chang e in configuration, with morphological and biochemical alterations occ urring apically and basolaterally, These alterations are collectively referred to as 'the plasma membrane transformation' of early pregnancy , It would be remarkable if this transformation did not also involve a lterations in cytoskeletal elements and, in particular, the membrane-a ssociated cytoskeleton, This review therefore, after an overview of th e morphological and molecular aspects of the membrane transformation a s background, proceeds to examine what is known about the cytoskeleton of uterine epithelial cells, Cytoskeletal elements particularly assoc iated with the plasma membrane are then examined and some new approach es to understanding membrane-skeletal dynamics, including detergent-pe rmeabilization techniques for transmission and high-resolution scannin g electron microscopy of uterine epithelial cells, are reported, toget her with recent work on these structures, The review concludes with an examination of how membrane-skeletal elements could contribute to the membrane transformation.