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Progress in the role of endometrial glucose metabolism in embryo implantation 

MA Yong-Dan, WANG Yi-Cheng, YUE Li-Min^*

Department of Physiology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China

Abstract

The synthesis and decomposition of glycogen adjust the blood glucose dynamically to maintain the energy supply required by the cells. As the only hormone that lowers blood sugar in the body, insulin can promote glycogen synthesis by activating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway and increasing glucose transporter translocation, and inhibit gluconeogenesis to lower blood glucose. In the endometrium, glycogen metabolism is active, but gluconeogenesis does not occur. The glycogen metabolism in the endometrium is controlled not only by the classical glucose regulating hormones, but also by the ovarian hormones. The functional activities related to implantation of the endometrium during the implantation window require glucose as energy source. A large amount of glucose is used to synthesize glycogen in the endometrium before implantation, which could meet the increased energy demand for embryo implantation. In diabetes, glycogen metabolism in the endometrium is impaired, which frequently leads to implantation failure and early abortion. This article reviews the glycogen metabolism in the endometrium and discusses its role in embryo implantation, which provide new ideas for embryo implantation research and infertility treatment.

Key words: Glycogen; insulin; endometrium; embryo implantation; diabetes

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 岳利民　　E-mail: yuelimin@scu.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2022.0020

Citing This Article：

MA Yong-Dan, WANG Yi-Cheng, YUE Li-Min. Progress in the role of endometrial glucose metabolism in embryo implantation . Acta Physiol Sin 2022; 74 (2): 255-264 (in Chinese with English abstract).