Decidualization is a critical event for the blastocyst implantation, placental development and fetal growth and the normal term. In mice, the embryo implantation to the uterine epithelial would trigger the endometrial stromal cells to differentiate into decidual stromal cells. However, decidualization in women takes place from the secretory phase of each menstrual cycle and continues to early pregnancy if there is conceptus. Deficient decidualization is often associated with pregnancy specific complications and reproductive disorders. Dramatic changes occur in the gene expression profiles during decidualization, which is coordinately regulated by steroid hormones, growth factors, and molecular and epigenetic mechanisms. Recently, emerging evidences showed that epigenetic modifications, mainly including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs, play an important role in the decidualization process via affecting the target genes’ expression. In this review, we will focus on the epigenetic modifications in decidualization and open novel avenues to predict and treat the pregnancy complications caused by abnormal decidualization.

蜕膜化是囊胚着床、胎盘发育、胎儿生长和正常足月的关键事件。在小鼠中，胚胎植入子宫上皮会触发子宫内膜基质细胞分化为蜕膜基质细胞。然而，女性的蜕膜化从每个月经周期的分泌期开始发生，如果有受孕，则持续到妊娠早期。蜕膜化不足通常与妊娠特异性并发症和生殖障碍有关。蜕膜化过程中基因表达谱发生巨大变化，蜕膜化受到类固醇激素、生长因子以及分子和表观遗传机制的协调调节。最近，新的证据表明表观遗传修饰，主要包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和非编码RNA，通过影响靶基因的表达在蜕膜化过程中发挥重要作用。在这篇综述中，我们将重点关注蜕膜化的表观遗传修饰，并开辟预测和治疗异常蜕膜化引起的妊娠并发症的新途径。