Blastocyst implantation: the adhesion cascade

This review covers the sequence of cell adhesion events occurring during im plantation of the mammalian embryo, concentrating on data from mouse and hu man. The analogy is explored between initial attachment of trophoblast to t he uterine lining epithelium and that of neutrophils to the endothelial lin ing of blood vessels at sites of inflammation.. The possible role of variou s carbohydrate ligands in initial attachment of the blastocyst is reviewed. The evidence for subsequent stabilization of cell adhesion via integrins o r the trophinin-tastin complex is discussed. (C) 2000 Academic Press.