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"Scientists at KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Belgium, have succeeded in growing three-dimensional cultures of the endometrium, the uterus' inner lining, in a dish. These so-called endometrial organoids promise to shed light onto the processes that occur during the monthly menstrual cycle and open up the possibility of studying diseases of the uterus, such as endometrial atrophy (thinning of the lining) or cancer, in a lab culture system.
Every month, the tissue that lines a woman's womb first thickens, then matures and finally -- unless the woman becomes pregnant -- degenerates in a cycle that is regulated by changing levels of the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone. This process is disrupted in diseases such as endometrial cancer, with serious consequences for the patient's fertility. However, we understand little about how these dynamic changes occur or about what goes wrong in disease, mainly because we lack good culture models for endometrial tissue.
In a new study published in the journal Development, the KU Leuven researchers show that individual or small groups of cells from uterus biopsies can be made to grow into three-dimensional structures that show many of the features of the womb lining, including the ability to produce mucus. Importantly, these endometrial organoids respond to the female hormones in a way similar to the endometrium in the body, allowing scientists to mimic the menstrual cycle in a dish..."
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