NU 2013-009
Inventors
Theresa K. Woodruff*
Takeshi Kurita
Ji-Yong Julie Kim
Joanna Burdette
Jie Zhu
Yuanming Xu
Yanni Yu
Yu Liu
Sevim Yildiz Arslan
Short Description
Advanced three dimensional model of the female reproductive tract that approximates the human hormonal response for pharmaceutical and toxicology testing
Abstract
Prof. Theresa Woodruff's laboratory from Northwestern University has developed a 3D model of the female reproductive system that can be used for drug development and testing. Women are underrepresented in many clinical trials and inclusion of pregnant women can have legal and ethical ramifications. This presents a significant challenge for drug development and is an obstacle towards improving women's healthcare. The ex vivo female reproductive system is viable under laboratory conditions and approximates the menstrual cycle. These features will allow researchers to perform drug testing as well as observational studies, while avoiding the ethical issues associated with generating the same kind of data from human subjects. The implementation of this reproductive system model into pharmacological and reproductive biology studies may help contribute to an expanded understanding of how women are affected by various treatments and drive improvements in women's healthcare overall.
Applications
Advantages
Publications
Yildiz Arslan S, Yu Y, Burdette JE, Pavone ME, Hope TJ, Woodruff TK, Kim JJ (2015) Novel Three Dimensional Human Endocervix Cultures Respond to 28-day Hormone Treatment, Endocrinology, 156: 1602-1609.
IP Status
US patent application has been filed.