Establishment of in vitro cultivation of bovine endometrial organoids for the study of maternal/embryonic communication.

• Grant number: 21/13948-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Flávio Vieira Meirelles
• Grantee: Thais Sayuri Imura Oshiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/00654-2 - Use of extracellular matrix of bovine endometrium for hydrogel formation as an in vivo embryonic maternal communication model, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

In ruminants, the definition of pregnancy begins with the migration of the blastocyst into the uterus. At this stage, the uterus support the initial development up to the embryo implantation. The uterine glands are involved in these processes, acting directly in the adaptation and regeneration of the endometrium. One of the fundamental functions of the uterine glands for embryonic development is to synthesize and secrete nutrients for the embryo, called histotrophic. The uterine glands play a large role in the uterine environment, improving the receptivity, implantation and development of the conceptus. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to establish the culture of organoids from bovine endometrial glands to generate a model to study in vitro maternal embryo communication post embryo hatching. The main hypothesis of the project is that the cultivation of organoids from bovine endometrial glands is feasible in cattle, as it enables embryo development after the hatching and acts directly on in vitro maternal embryonic communication. For this, cultures of organoids will be established and characterized by immunofluorescence and western blot, to later carry out the co-culture of post-hatching embryos (produced in vitro) and finally perform gene expression analysis of organoids and co-embryos. Therefore, this novel designed method for culturing post-hatch embryos will provide a better understanding of the physiology of the female reproductive system, as well as a better understanding uterine pathology and endometrial glands biology. Therefore, the use of this methodology will contribute to the development of biobanks of uterine organoids, improving new therapeutic tools and better understanding embryonic maternal communication and uterine receptivity within animal and human reproduction.