Ak Aslı, Luijkx Dorian, Carvalho Daniel, Giselbrecht Stefan, van Golde Ron, Vrij Erik
MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, GROW Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Methods Mol Biol. 2025 May 17. doi: 10.1007/7651_2025_645.
The ability of the endometrium to accept and support embryo implantation is crucial, but factors influencing this process remain elusive. This method aims to obtain precise quantitative information on factors causally affecting the initial stages of embryo implantation. We developed a personalized implantation-on-chip platform using in vitro models of the endometrium (organoids) and the embryo (blastoids) to quantify functional embryo attachment. Here, we describe a microfluidic platform for precisely assessing functional receptivity of endometrial epithelium through blastoid adhesion. Endometrial organoids were expanded and transformed into epithelial monolayers within custom-made microfluidic chips. These chips were then infused with large numbers of blastoids (>100) per chip. Followed after 48 h of co-culture, blastoids were exposed to a controlled stepwise increasing flow rate (50, 100 and 400 μL/min), while the rate of adhered blastoids was precisely measured from image-based readouts. Our method offers a robust platform for studying endometrial epithelial receptivity and testing therapeutic interventions with potential impact for infertile patients.
子宫内膜接受并支持胚胎着床的能力至关重要，但影响这一过程的因素仍不清楚。该方法旨在获取有关因果影响胚胎着床初始阶段因素的精确量化信息。我们开发了一种个性化的芯片着床平台，利用子宫内膜（类器官）和胚胎（类囊胚）的体外模型来量化功能性胚胎附着。在此，我们描述了一种通过类囊胚黏附精确评估子宫内膜上皮功能接受性的微流控平台。将子宫内膜类器官进行扩增，并在定制的微流控芯片内转化为上皮单层。然后向这些芯片中每片注入大量类囊胚（>100个）。共培养48小时后，使类囊胚暴露于逐步增加的可控流速（50、100和400μL/分钟）下，同时通过基于图像的读数精确测量黏附类囊胚的比率。我们的方法为研究子宫内膜上皮接受性和测试对不孕患者可能有影响的治疗干预措施提供了一个强大的平台。
