Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Zhang Hua Correspondent Wu Xiaodan Han Yurou
Photo/Courtesy of respondents
Infertility caused by endometrial damage is expected to usher in new treatments.
Recently, Under the guidance of Gao Yi, director of the Institute of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine of the Center for Translational Medicine of Zhujiang Hospital, and Wang Yifeng, director of the Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology of Zhujiang Hospital, Yi Xiao, a doctoral student at the Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology of Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, proposed a model of reconfigurable uterine-derived materials (RUMs) that can effectively cope with the problem of uterine repair.
In animal experiments, mice with severely damaged uterus were almost completely repaired, and mice achieved normal pregnancy, fetal development, and live birth.
Southern Medical University Zhujiang Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical Center doctoral student Yi Xiao in the laboratory
Infertility due to endometrial damage lacks efficient treatment strategies
After the three-child policy was liberalized, "wanting to be born and not being born" is the fertility dilemma that many families are encountering, and "infertility" has become their hidden pain. Qiao Jie, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a well-known reproductive medicine expert, mentioned in a report published online in The Lancet in 2021 that the infertility rate in the mainland rose from 12% in 2007 to 15% in 2010, and rose to about 18% in 2020.
Among them, uterine infertility caused by endometrial damage is becoming more and more common. Wang Yifeng, director of the Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology Medicine at Pearl River Hospital, said that the endometrium is a highly regenerative tissue that undergoes as many as about 400 growth and shedding cycles during the fertility stage of women. Endometrial damage caused by abortion, curettage, uterine surgery, infection and other reasons may cause endometrial regeneration disorders, resulting in decreased menstruation, amenorrhea, repeated miscarriages and infertility. In infertility patients, the incidence of endometrial damage is reported to be about one in five.
"At present, there is no good way to treat endometrial damage, mostly using progesterone estrogen therapy, but the effect is not good." This makes many women lose their fertility. Wang Yifeng said that traditional treatment methods cannot effectively treat uterine adhesions, thereby weakening the ability of uterine repair and ultimately affecting the pregnancy rate.
The new material is expected to effectively address uterine repair challenges
In view of this, Director Wang Yifeng and his doctoral student Yi Xiao, together with Professor Gao Yi, Director of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the Center for Translational Medicine of Pearl River Hospital, Wang Shutao of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Fan Junbing of the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Southern Medical University, carried out a four-year collaborative research and proposed a model of reconfigurable uterine derived materials (RUMs), which has a tunable state and morphology, and can efficiently cope with the problem of uterine repair.
According to the reporter's understanding, Pearl River Hospital has established the first organoid construction platform for new biological nanomaterials in the province. The uterine-derived material for this study is derived from human umbilical cord stem cells and biomaterials provided by the Platform Regenerative Cell Research Institute.
Yi Xiao introduced to reporters that based on the structural characteristics of the uterus, the study prepared injectable RUMs gels and RUMs meshes, in which RUMs gels can reach the endometrial space deeply to effectively prevent uterine adhesions and improve angiogenesis, endometrial regeneration and muscle collagen reconstruction. At the same time, RUMs adhere to the uterine wall to accelerate wound healing and prevent the wound from sticking to the abdominal tissue. Not only that, BUT RUMs can also secrete a range of cytokines to regulate the uterine microenvironment, which promotes wound healing and uterine repair.
Staff in the laboratory of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at Pearl River Hospital are conducting cell culture
It is understood that in order to study the ability of RUM gels and meshes to work together to repair uterine damage, the research team built a rat model with severe uterine damage. Through the treatment of RUMs gels and meshes, the uterine structure of the rats was almost regenerated on day 15, effectively helping mice conceive and baby birth to return to normal. The research results were published in Advanced Materials (Impact Factor 30.86) under the title "Reconstructable Uterus-Derived Materials for Uterus Recovery toward Efficient Live Births".
Professor Gao Yi said that the study of mice has been completed, and will be verified on monkeys and other large animals in the future, and the biological nanomaterial will be sent to a third party for safety evaluation. Through medical ethics and clinical trials, in the future RUMs gels and meshes can be used as a product for topical application in patients with endometrial damage. Experts expect that this product can be applied clinically after 3-4 years. (For more news, please pay attention to Yangcheng Pie pai.ycwb.com)
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pie
Editor-in-charge | Lin Qingqing