Research Description:

The endometrium is the surface tissue that cover the walls of the uterus. In humans, this tissue suffers physiological and morphological modifications along the menstrual cycle and finally is rejected upon finishing the month, moment in which a new cycle is initiated and the lost endometrium is renewed.
The fundamental physiological objective of these changes is that of preparing the endometrium toward a receptive state in which the implantation of the embryo is possible. This is exclusively for a limited period of time called implantation window, that occurs between the days 19 and 23 of the menstrual cycle (days 5-9 post ovulation), approximately.
In the foundation we try to understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate the acquisition of an endometrium receptive in humans, under both natural and in assisted reproduction treatment. We are also interested in identifying those molecular signals that are produced between embryo and endometrium during the preimplantation period and lead to a physical interaction among them and the subsequent introduction of the first, thus initiating pregnancy. Among the numerous molecular components responsible for regulating endometrial function and the embryonic establishment, the lipids are recognized as important mediators in various reproductive processes that include the ovulation, fertilization, the establishment, the menstruation and the labor.
The lipids that are found in the uterine cavity come from the circulation, or are synthesized by endometrial cells themselves and and are released into the extracellular medium where they act in an autocrine and paracrine.
Besides the role of the lipids as regulators of the endometrial function, we also propose their use as diagnostic markers of the state of receptivity.
At present it is determined by morphological unreliable criteria.The evolution of the cell and molecular biology and the development of new analytical techniques, they are a toehold in the search of consistent parameters at the moment when predicting the endometrial receptivity.. .
The introduction of new genetic and proteomic analysis have been added to the list of tools used to date for the determination of endometrial receptivity, and the endometrial biopsies can now be used to identify molecules associated with the state of the uterine receptivity.
An inconvenience in the use of techniques which involve the taking of biopsies resides in the invasive nature of the same, and in the interference tthat this involves the treatment of embryo implantation.
In this sense, endometrial secretions constitute an attractive noninvasive method, practical and safe to determine endometrial receptivity.
This method provides valuable readings of individual molecules along the cycle, taken from endometrial fluid .
Therefore, we have initiated studies focused on determining the molecular component of these secretions as a possible route to development of non invasive diagnostic tools that, in a future, help us to determine the state of endometrial receptivity reliably, and that can be incorporated easily in clinical practice.

1. Investigating the role that different lipid mediators play in the acquisition of the receptive state of the human endometrium.
2. Study the molecular mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of endometrial lipid.
3. Know the effect of lipids secreted by the endometrium on embryos.
4. Establish the diagnostic value of the lipids as markers of endometrial receptivity.  

In particular our lines of study are centered in: