Formation of an endometrial epithelial monolayer in a microfluidic device with human tissue-derived endometrial organoids
The endometrium is the uterine lining that supports implantation and pregnancy. Existing <i>in vitro</i> systems only partly capture epithelial structure and function. We built a microfluidic model of the human endometrial epithelium using patient-derived organoids and defined a parameterized device and ECM conditions that yield a stable, polarized monolayer on chip. We specify the geometry, surface treatments, and collagen-based hydrogel or coating conditions, and we link these parameters to epithelial morphology and barrier integrity readouts. The epithelial layer maintains histologic features and endometrium-relevant markers and shows hormone-responsive transcript profiles. We quantify donor-to-donor variability across two donors and use it as a design constraint for reproducible culture. Because stromal and immune components shape the reproductive microenvironment, we will extend this platform to modular multicellular co-cultures that incorporate these elements.
Authors
- Yeju Jeong
- Sung-chul Shin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1814-9578)
- Junsik Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9928-4896)
- Yup Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6747-4399)
- Jihee Won
- Ji Hun Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-8026)
- Jin-A Kim
- Jung-Yun Lee
- Seok Chung
- Yale Hahm
Institutions
- Apple (Israel) (IL)
- Emory University (US)
- Yonsei University (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- Soonchunhyang University (KR)
- The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (US)
- Korea Institute of Brain Science (KR)
- Jeonbuk National University Hospital (KR)
- PreClinOmics (United States) (US)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- Bucheon University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Lab on a Chip
- Published
- 2026-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00278h
- Primary Topic
- 3D Printing in Biomedical Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00