Trophoblast motility in a gelatin hydrogel

New Rochelle, NY, December 18, 2020–Trophoblast cells, which surround the developing blastocyst in early pregnancy, play an important role in implantation in the uterine wall. A new multidimensional model of trophoblast motility that utilizes a functionalized hydrogel is described in the peer-reviewed journal Tissue Engineering, Part A. Click here to read the full-text article free on the Tissue Engineering website through January 18, 2020.

This valuable new tool, based on a methacrylamide-functionalized gelatin hydrogel, can be used for three-dimensional trophoblast spheroid motility assays. It can resolve quantifiable differences in outgrowth area and viability in the presence of a known invasion promoter and a known invasion inhibitor.

“Implantation involves a highly coordinated molecular dialogue between endometrial cells and trophoblast cells,” state Brendan Harley and coauthors, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Developing a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms surrounding implantation may provide critical insights into pregnancy and pregnancy disorders.”

“Dr. Harley and his colleagues at Illinois have provided a fundamental work to the growing field of pregnancy models, with a particular focus on the role of trophoblast migration. Here, the research team nicely showed that key factors – EGF and TGF-beta1 – play a critical role in modulating trophoblast motility, and thus provide a pathway for better understanding these events during normal and complex pregnancies,” says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-Chief John P. Fisher, PhD, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland.

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About the Journal

Tissue Engineering is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published bimonthly, and Part C: Methods, published 12 times per year. Led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX, and John P. Fisher, PhD, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland, the Journal brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. Leadership of Tissue Engineering Parts B (Reviews) and Part C (Methods) is provided by Katja Schenke-Layland, PhD, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Heungsoo Shin, PhD, Hanyang University; and John A. Jansen, DDS, PhD, Radboud University, and Xiumei Wang, PhD, Tsinghua University respectively. Tissue Engineering is the official journal of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Tissue Engineering website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.