SRF2015 POSTER PRESENTATIONS (1) (56 abstracts)
A model of tissue-engineered (3d) decidua to study the effects of environmental pollutants on endometrial physiology
Chiara Mannelli 1 , Anna Szostek 1 , Francesca Letta 2 , Karolina Łukasik 1 , Katarzyna Jankowska 1 , Katarzyna Piotrowska-Tomala 1 , Luana Ricci Paulesu 2 & Dariusz Jan Skarzynski 1
1Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Olsztyn, Poland; 2University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
The increasing exposure to environmental chemicals is a burden for human reproduction, and can alter endometrial functions and maternal–embryo interactions. The available in vitro endometrial models often fail to represent the complexity of cellular environment, cells shape and organization, and could give misleading results on the effects of environmental chemicals. Here, a tissue-engineered (3D) decidua was used as a toxicological model. Human stromal cells were isolated from healthy endometria (n=3). Cells were vimentin positive and cytokeratin-7 negative. To build the 3D decidua, endometrial stromal cells were embedded in a fibrin-agarose matrix and decidualized in vitro with steroid hormones (17β-estradiol and progesterone). The 3D decidua was compared to bi-dimensional (2D) cultures of in vitro decidualized endometrial stromal cells. The secretion of IGFBP-1 was monitored up to 12 days, during the decidualization. The two models were then exposed to an environmental chemical, Bisphenol A (BPA, 1 nM) or to the vehicle (control =0.1% ethanol). The secretion of the cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was monitored as a marker of pro-inflammatory response. In a 3D environment, cells were more responsive to hormonal stimuli, as the decidualization was faster compared to the 2D cultures. MIF secretion increased upon exposure to BPA in both models, the effect being more significant in the 3D decidua (P<0.05). This study could open to new scenarios in toxicological studies, as the use of more complex in vitro models could help to better understand the effects of environmental pollutants on human health.
Supported by NRC Grant Preludium 2013/09/N/NZ5/03062.
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ISSN 2052-1472 (online)
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