MT Vaintraub, CAP Tavares, MAC Sampaio, S Geber
JBRA Assist. Reprod. 2000; 4 (2):71-77
Received April 19, 2000
Accepted May 15, 2000
Abstract
Implantation is a progressive process where an embryo needs to apose and adhere to the maternal endometrium, invading it. Communication between endometrium and embryo is still a mystery in reproductive medicine. Penetration of trophoblastic cells in the endometrium is not due to a passive growth pressure, but to an active biochemical process, where one cell becomes invasive according to its capacity to produce proteases. Metaloproteinases are membrane proteases that apparently act, when activated, similarly to blood clotting process, in a cascade reaction.
