Project description:The molecular interactions between the maternal environment and the developing embryo that are key for early pregnancy success are known to be influenced by factors such as maternal metabolic status. Our understanding of the mechanism(s) through which these individual nutritional stressors alter endometrial function and the in utero environment for early pregnancy success is, however, limited. Here we report, for the first time, the use of an endometrium-on-a-chip microfluidics approach to produce a multi-cellular endometrium in vitro, that was exposed to glucose and insulin concentrations associated with maternal metabolic stressors. Following isolation of endometrial cells (epithelial and stromal) from the uteri of non-pregnant cows in the early-luteal phase (Day 4-7 approximately), epithelial cells were seeded in the upper chamber of the device (4-6 104 cells/mL) and stromal cells seeded in the lower chamber (1.5-2 104 cells/mL). Three different concentration of glucose (0.5, 5.0 or 50 mM) or insulin (Vehicle, 1 or 10 ng/mL) were performed in the endometrial cells at a flow rate of 1µL/min for 72 hr to mimic the rate of secretion in vivo. Quantitative differences in the transcriptomic response of the cells and the secreted proteome of in vitro-derived uterine luminal fluid (ULF) were determined by RNA-sequencing and Tandem Mass Tagging Mass Spectrometry (TMT), respectively. Changes in maternal glucose altered 21 and 191 protein-coding genes in epithelial and stromal cells, respectively (p<0.05), with a dose-dependent quantitative change in the protein secretome (1 and 23 proteins in epithelial and stromal cells, respectively). Altering insulin concentrations resulted in limited transcriptional changes including transcripts for insulin-like binding proteins that were cell specific (5, 12, and 20) but altered the quantitative secretion of 196 proteins including those involved in extracellular matrix-receptor interaction and proteoglycan signaling in cancer. Collectively, these findings highlight one potential mechanism by which changes to maternal glucose and insulin associated with metabolic stress may alter uterine function.

Project description:Study questionCan we reconstitute physiologically relevant 3-dimensional (3D) microengineered endometrium in-vitro model?Summary answerOur representative microengineered vascularised endometrium on-a-chip closely recapitulates the endometrial microenvironment that consists of three distinct layers including epithelial cells, stromal fibroblasts and endothelial cells in a 3D extracellular matrix in a spatiotemporal manner.What is known alreadyOrgan-on-a-chip, a multi-channel 3D microfluidic cell culture system, is widely used to investigate physiologically relevant responses of organ systems.Study design, size, durationThe device consists of five microchannels that are arrayed in parallel and partitioned by array of micropost. Two central channels are for 3D culture and morphogenesis of stromal fibroblast and endothelial cells. In addition, the outermost channel is for the culture of additional endometrial stromal fibroblasts that secrete biochemical cues to induce directional pro-angiogenic responses of endothelial cells. To seed endometrial epithelial cells, on Day 8, Ishikawa cells were introduced to one of the two medium channels to adhere on the gel surface. After that, the microengineered endometrium was cultured for an additional 5-6 days (total ∼ 14 days) for the purpose of each experiment.Participants/materials, setting, methodsMicrofluidic 3D cultures were maintained in endothelial growth Medium 2 with or without oestradiol and progesterone. Some cultures additionally received exogenous pro-angiogenic factors. For the three distinct layers of microengineered endometrium-on-a-chip, the epithelium, stroma and blood vessel characteristics and drug response of each distinct layer in the microfluidic model were assessed morphologically and biochemically. The quantitative measurement of endometrial drug delivery was evaluated by the permeability coefficients.Main results and the role of chanceWe established microengineered vascularised endometrium-on-chip, which consists of three distinct layers: epithelium, stroma and blood vessels. Our endometrium model faithfully recapitulates in-vivo endometrial vasculo-angiogenesis and hormonal responses displaying key features of the proliferative and secretory phases of the menstrual cycle. Furthermore, the effect of the emergency contraception drug levonorgestrel was evaluated in our model demonstrating increased endometrial permeability and blood vessel regression in a dose-dependent manner. We finally provided a proof of concept of the multi-layered endometrium model for embryo implantation, which aids a better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this process.Large scale dataN/A.Limitations, reasons for cautionThis report is largely an in-vitro study and it would be beneficial to validate our findings using human primary endometrial cells.Wider implications of the findingsOur 3D microengineered vascularised endometrium-on-a-chip provides a new in-vitro approach to drug screening and drug discovery by mimicking the complicated behaviours of human endometrium. Thus, we suggest our model as a tool for addressing critical challenges and unsolved problems in female diseases, such as endometriosis, uterine cancer and female infertility, in a personalised manner.Study funding/competing interest(s)This work is supported by funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) to Y.J.K. (No. 2018R1C1B6003), to J.A. (No. 2020R1I1A1A01074136) and to H.S.K. (No. 2020R1C1C100787212). The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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Endometrium On-a-Chip Reveals Insulin- and Glucose-induced Alterations in the Transcriptome and Proteomic Secretome.

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