Regulation of oxytocin-induced calcium transients and gene expression in engineered myometrial tissues by tissue architecture and matrix rigidity.

ABSTRACT: The uterus is susceptible to benign tumors known as fibroids, which have been associated with many pregnancy complications, including preterm labor. However, the impact of fibrotic tissue remodeling on the physiology of the myometrium, the smooth muscle layer of the uterus, is poorly understood, in large part due to a lack of model systems. In this study, we engineered healthy-like and fibrotic-like myometrium by culturing human myometrial smooth muscle cells on polyacrylamide hydrogels micropatterned with fibronectin to independently tune matrix rigidity and tissue alignment, respectively. We then evaluated calcium transients in response to oxytocin stimulation. Isotropic myometrial tissues on stiff substrates (representing fibrotic myometrium) had shorter calcium transients due to shorte

SUBMITTER: Maxey AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10724203 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature