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Semaglutide alters the human embryo-endometrium interface

Apostolov, A.; Pathare, A. D. S.; Lavogina, D.; Zhao, C.; Kask, K.; Blanco Rodriguez, L.; Ruiz-Duran, S.; Risal, S.; Rooda, I.; Damdimopoulou, P.; Saare, M.; Peters, M.; Koistinen, H.; Acharya, G.; Zamani Esteki, M.; Lanner, F.; Sola Leyva, A.; Salumets, A.

2026-03-07 obstetrics and gynecology
10.64898/2026.03.03.26347354 medRxiv
Show abstract

The use of semaglutide (SE), a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) with glucose-lowering and weight-loss effects, has risen rapidly, particularly among women of reproductive age. While preclinical studies suggest benefits for ovarian function via the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, its impact on the endometrial-embryo interface remains unclear. Here, we show that GLP-1R is dynamically expressed in fertile human endometrium, restricted to epithelial cells and markedly upregulated during the mid-secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. In a preclinical model of endometrial epithelial organoids, SE at physiological concentrations activates intracellular cAMP signaling, enhances epithelial metabolism, and upregulates receptivity markers without steroid hormone priming, whereas higher concentrations modestly reduce expression of a key receptivity marker PAEP/glycodelin and shift metabolism towards oxidative phosphorylation. By contrast, in stromal cells lacking detectable GLP-1R, SE disrupts decidualization, induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and suppresses cell-cycle at G2/M phase. Human embryo models, blastoids, expressed GLP-1R and underwent concordant SE-mediated transcriptional remodeling in epiblast and trophectoderm lineages, encompassing changes in metabolism and epigenetic regulation, but without shifts in lineage proportions. Notably, SE increased blastoid attachment to the endometrial epithelium in the absence of exogenous steroid hormones, suggesting enhanced epithelial-embryo interaction. Together, these findings reveal a compartment-specific mismatch, as SE augments epithelial and embryonic metabolic activity but compromises stromal support for implantation, with potential consequences for implantation due to stromal dysfunction.

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