The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded a $235,803 Project Grant (CFDA 93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research) to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (Tees) to quantitate oxytocin-induced contractility in a bioengineered 3D in vitro model of human myometrium (uterine smooth muscle).
The key objectives are to: 1) benchmark the interconnectivity, contractile phenotype, and genotype of the bioengineered 3D myometrium against matched patient-derived uterine biospecimens, and 2) directly evaluate the kinetics (amplitude, velocity, and duration) of contraction of the bioengineered myometrium in response to varying doses of oxytocin, again benchmarked against matched biospecimens. This research aims to establish a new method for directly evaluating myometrial contractility, including quantifiable metrics for oxytocin-induced contractility, in order to improve management of labor dysfunction.
Generated 3/18/25, 3:09 AM