Stem Cell Res Ther. 2013;4 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S13. doi: 10.1186/scrt374. Epub 2013 Dec 20.
The female reproductive tract produces hormones for reproductive function and cardiovascular, bone and sexual health; the tract supplies a finite number of gametes, and it supports fetal development. Diseases that affect each of the female reproductive tract organs, along with treatments that have direct, deleterious effects on the reproductive tract (for example, chemotherapeutics), are understudied due to the lack of model systems that phenocopy in vivo function. This review describes a path toward developing female reproductive tract mimics. The models use isolated primary support cells cultured onto a biological scaffold and within a microfluidic system to create a niche and support the desired differentiation of epithelia, germ and somatic cells from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. Improving our fund of knowledge about reproductive tract biology and creating reproductive organs for patients who have lost gonadal, uterine or vaginal/ cervical function is a major step forward in women's health and an important advancement in personalized medicine.
女性生殖道负责产生生殖功能和心血管、骨骼和性功能所需的激素；生殖道提供有限数量的配子，并支持胎儿发育。由于缺乏能够模拟体内功能的模型系统，影响女性生殖道各个器官的疾病以及对生殖道有直接、有害影响的治疗方法（例如化疗药物）的研究还很不足。这篇综述描述了开发女性生殖道模拟物的途径。这些模型使用分离的原代支持细胞培养在生物支架上，并在微流控系统中，创建一个小生境并支持上皮、生殖细胞和体细胞从患者来源的诱导多能干细胞的所需分化。提高我们对生殖道生物学的认识，并为失去性腺、子宫或阴道/宫颈功能的患者创建生殖器官，是妇女健康的重要一步，也是个性化医疗的重要进展。
